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Hittin 'em Hard...
Took on a nasty electrical fire today onboard ship. A female sailor was working with a civilian contractor cutting and removing some dead cable with a hacksaw. The saw evidently slipped after going through the dead cable and embedded itself in a 440V cable below it. The resulting shock sent the sailor flying from the ladder to land on the deck hard and started a Class "C" fire. Initial attempts at extinguishment using CO2 were ineffective, as the fire actually flared up and semi-exploded in the personnel's face. Due to the amount of paint and dust built up on the cable, the fire was extremely smoky and quickly became a hazard to Rapid Response personnel and others without breathing apparatus. It quickly enveloped the messdeck area, requiring quick evacuation of non-critical personnel. Due to the high position of the blaze, agent could not be aimed directly onto the fire. In the end, 16 15lb CO2 bottles were used to extinguish the fire. After extinguishment, the hacksaw was found, blade snapped in half, and blackened by the fire. The sailor somehow survived both the shock and the fall to the deck, making her extremely lucky in many of our opinions. Would anyone have handled this differently, given the same scenario? Enclosed large space on a ship, electrical fire in a cableway running across the overhead.
AZ2 Erik Prager
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USS Kitty Hawk(CV-63)
Flying Squad
"Freedom's Firefighters"
***These statements do not neccessarily reflect the views of my command, the US Navy, or the US Government. They are strictly my own.
AZ2 Erik Prager
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USS Kitty Hawk(CV-63)
Flying Squad
"Freedom's Firefighters"
***These statements do not neccessarily reflect the views of my command, the US Navy, or the US Government. They are strictly my own.
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