The Navy is jointly investigating a fire that broke out aboard a destroyer with federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the service confirmed to Military.com.
The fire aboard the USS Carney broke out in the early morning hours of Dec. 23, the Navy said, and ATF agents were assisting in the investigation as of Monday.
The agency describes itself as the top federal source for fire investigations and knowledge and is tasked with enforcing federal arson laws. Special agents within the ATF investigate arson and arrive on incident scenes rapidly.
Lt. Cmdr. Jason Fischer confirmed that ATF agents were aboard the ship on Monday in an email to Military.com.
"The Navy is leveraging all available tools during this investigation, to include support from partner agencies," Fischer said.
According to the Navy, a fire broke out around 3:43 a.m. on the Carney last week while it was docked at Naval Station Mayport near Jacksonville, Florida. Sailors who were aboard the ship responded to the fire and were assisted by Jacksonville Fire and Rescue as well as a team from the USS Mason, which was nearby.
While the fire was quickly put out, Fischer said that six sailors were evaluated by first responders for smoke inhalation and were transported to a hospital nearby for further evaluation. They were released the same day.
TheIntelFrog Twitter account was reportedly monitoring the base's radio communications and told Military.com that initial reports described the fire as a Class-A blaze in one of the ship's compartments. Class-A fires involve combustibles such as wood, cloth, paper, rubber or plastic.
The incident aboard the Carney is the second known fire to occur on a ship moored at Mayport, according to Military.com. An electrical fire broke out aboard the USS Milwaukee in late July, but was quickly extinguished.
The most destructive fires on board Navy ships in recent memory have occurred while the vessels were undergoing repairs, however.
The amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard suffered a fire in 2020 when approximately two-thirds of her scheduled maintenance had been completed. A junior sailor was accused of setting the blaze, but the case fell apart during the court-martial. The ship was ultimately decommissioned and scrapped.
A shipyard fire aboard the submarine USS Miami in 2012 also badly damaged the vessel and led to its decommissioning. In that case, a shipyard worker was convicted of setting the fire and sentenced to more than 17 years in prison.
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