A fire about the amphibious assault ship the USS Bonhomme Richard continued for a fourth day, with the Navy saying that the ship is stable and the structure is safe, according to the Navy Times.
Docked in San Diego harbor, the Bonhomme Richard caught fire in its well deck–the location where boats and other vessels board the ship–Sunday morning local time.
While no determination has been made about the cause of the fire, construction and packing material on board caused the fire to spread rapidly, fueling the fire to temperatures approaching 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures that high meant that crews could only battle the fire in 15-minute shifts.
Four jurisdictions, including the Navy, the San Diego municipal fire department and harbor fire ships, responded to the blaze.
The ship was in San Diego for scheduled maintenance and upgrades, which may have inadvertently allowed the fire to spread: the ship’s Halon fire suppression system was off-line for maintenance when the fire occurred.
All crew members were safe and accounted for, but more than 50 sailors and civilians on board were taken to local hospitals for treatment on Sunday.
The Bonhomme Richard is a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship that was commissioned in 1998. It normally holds a ship’s complement of 1,000 personnel, but only about 160 were thought to be on board at the time the fire started.