Fire extinguished aboard USS Bonhomme Richard after raging for 4 days

WASHINGTON – Firefighters extinguished the blaze Thursday that had raged aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard for four days at its pier in San Diego, the Navy announced.

Damage to the ship, a small aircraft carrier that ferries Marines to battle, appears extensive, with gaping holes in its deck and damage to its superstructure. Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck said the ship’s fate is unclear.

“We do not know the extent of the damage,” said Sobeck, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 3. “It is too early to make any predictions or promises of what the future of the ship will be.”

The cause of the fire is unknown, and the investigation won’t be launched until crews verify that hot spots don’t remain, he said.

Navy, federal and local firefighters worked to contain the blaze, which began Sunday in a huge cargo area. Fed by building materials, the fire reached 1,000 degrees and forced firefighters to work in shifts to recover from the heat. Helicopters dumped more than 1,500 buckets of water on the ship’s deck and tugs poured water onto its hull to cool it enough to allow firefighting crews to contain the fire.

Early Thursday morning, crews evacuated the pier after the ship began listing from the water it had taken on. They returned once it had stabilized.

The fire injured 63 firefighters, most from heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation. None were seriously hurt, Sobeck said.

If the Bonhomme Richard, which was commissioned in 1998, proves too damaged or too costly to repair, the Navy will face a high price to replace it. A new ship would take years to build, said Todd Harrison, a military budget expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and cost about $4 billion.

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