USS Bonhomme Richard suffers three alarm fire

SAN DIEGO—Fire crews from multiple agencies reportedly made substantial progress in putting out a blaze aboard the U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship, USS Bonhomme Richard, in San Diego. The fire began aboard the ship on July 12; flare ups and hot spots persisted through July 15, with hundreds of sailor and firefighters reportedly working to put out the blaze.

USS Bonhomme Richard, which is based in San Diego, is weeks away from its 22nd birthday; the Navy ship was commissioned on Aug. 15, 1998.

The cause of the fire, which started in a lower storage area, is still under investigation, according to news reports.

The Port of San Diego Harbor Police was among the agencies who joined the U.S. Navy in battling the ship fire.

“Port of San Diego Harbor Police assisted @USNavy with a 3 alarm fire aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard. Great teamwork displayed by all the agencies that responded. Thankfully the vessel was evacuated with no loss of life,” the Port of San Diego Harbor Police tweeted on July 12.

Harbor Police staff shared four photos of the ship fire on its Twitter post.

The San Diego Union-Tribune, on July 15, reported 23 civilians and 40 sailors were injured while trying to put out the fire.

A July 13 tweet by the U.S. Navy stated 36 sailors and 23 civilians were being treated for minor injuries, “including heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation.”

The fire was not declared extinguished as of July 15. This story will be updated online at thelog.com.

One thought on “USS Bonhomme Richard suffers three alarm fire

  • August 20, 2020 at 8:15 pm
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    The Harbor Police actually assisted the Federal Fire Department who called away the 3-Alarm call. The Navy also assisted Fed Fire because they did not act quick enough when other ships told them they had black smoke.

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