Smoking Can Be Hazardous To Your Nuclear Powered Aircraft Carrier

One lit cigarette equals $70 million in damage and a new career for the commanding officer:

SAN DIEGO — Smoking appears to have sparked a fire that caused $70 million in damage to the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington, Navy officials said Wednesday.

The announcement by the Navy came as Adm. Robert F. Willard, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, relieved the carrier's commanding officer, Capt. David C. Dykhoff, and the executive officer of duty, Capt. David M. Dober.

Willard cited lost confidence in the commanding officer and his failure to meet mission standards after the investigation found unauthorized smoking by a crew member appeared to have ignited flammable liquids and other combustible material that were improperly stored. The other officer was relieved of duty for substandard performance.

"The fire and the subsequent magnitude of the fire were the result of a series of human acts that could have been prevented," according to a statement released by the Naval Air Forces in San Diego.

The Norfolk, Virginia-based carrier was en route from Chile to San Diego when the fire began on May 22.

"The smoking was happening in an unauthorized space and the evidence points to it probably was a lit cigarette that ignited the oil," said Capt. Scott Gureck, a spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Fleet. He said the investigation did not reveal who was smoking. Flames were initially spotted near the auxiliary boiler room and air conditioning and refrigeration space in the rear of the ship. The safety of the ship's nuclear reactor was not threatened.

Navy officials now say it took about 12 hours to put out the fire because of the location and size. Fire and heat damaged electrical cabling and components running through 80 of the 3,800 compartments across several decks of the carrier.
The crew of the carrier has been temporarily assigned to shore duty in San Diego since shortly after the fire.

I took the photo above on July 3rd of the George Washington berthed at Coronado Island in San Diego Bay. It sounds like they'll be there for awhile. At least they got shore duty in a nice town.