A fire aboard the USS Gerald Ford was reportedly more severe than previously thought, burning for hours and leaving hundreds of sailors without beds.
A fire, which started in the aircraft carrier’s laundry area on Thursday, was confirmed by U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet the same day. The statement only said the fire was “not combat-related and is contained,” left two sailors with “non-life threatening injuries,” and hadn’t harmed the ship’s operability. However, a New York Times report on Monday revealed that the fire was more extensive and damaging than previously believed, gutting part of the ship’s quarters.
The fire lasted a full 30 hours before it was fully put out. It left over 600 sailors without beds, and they have since been forced to sleep on the floor and on tables elsewhere on the ship.
Sailors on the ship told the outlet that dozens of crew members suffered smoke inhalation, and many haven’t been able to do laundry since.
The more than 600 sailors and crew members affected make up a significant portion of the Gerald Ford’s 4,500 crew. The crew is set to break the post-Vietnam record for longest aircraft carrier deployment in mid-April. If it makes it past May, as is expected, it will have been at sea a full year, double the standard aircraft carrier deployment.
The Gerald Ford was in the Mediterranean Sea in October when it was called to the Caribbean Sea to take part in the pressure operation against Venezuela, then in February was called to race across the Atlantic for Operation Epic Fury against Iran.
USS FORD EXPERIENCES NON-COMBAT-RELATED FIRE ONBOARD, TWO SAILORS SEEKING MEDICAL ATTENTION
A nuclear aircraft carrier can hypothetically stay at sea indefinitely, only needing its food, munitions, and aircraft fuel restocked, which is usually done during deployment by support ships. However, deployments are usually kept to around six months due to crew burnout and stress, and a need for routine maintenance.
“Ships get tired too, and they get beat up over the course of long deployments,” former Pentagon press secretary and Rear Adm. John Kirby told the outlet. “You can’t run a ship that long and that hard and expect her and her crew to perform at peak capacity.”
