.
Just before I retired, we had a major fuel oil leak in one of our engine rooms. The entire ship did exactly what it had to do to prevent a total disaster, and that is due to the constant training. The damage control and firefighting techniques used today, are from lessons learned from that specific fire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chuiyXQKw3I

I think we need to realize that US Military training is “that good”. In the less distant past, the USS Samuel B. Roberts hit a mine in the Persian Gulf that should have sunk her… but for her damage control team’s exceptional inability to give up.

When the USS Stark was hit by a missile, the same type missile which put a like British ship underwater, the damage control efforts of the crew were the ONLY reason the ship survived to be repaired and placed back in service.

I salute our military today and thank them for continuing to serve a country I proudly served for almost 30 years.

During that era most damage control funds were passed on to maintenance and other uses, much of the equipment was in disrepair. The training at the time was woefully lacking to be polite about it. The Forrestal, Oriskiny, and Enterprise fires were part of a chain of disasters that drove the Navy to increase training, and begin a multi-decades long upgrade in material.

The Navy new the problems existed long before the fires occured, and most captains were warned about the problems well before these disasters happened.

Events like the fire on the Forrestal need to be retold continuously or the lessons we learned from them will be forgotten until another disaster occurs.

We watched that foottage many times for training purposes while I was in the Navy…

Yep.

It was required viewing when I went through basic.

My son serves as a DC on a destroyer in the gulf.

It takes a special breed for that job. Thanks for serving.

csdeven on August 20, 2007 at 9:32 PM

Thank you. Tell your son there are lots of us back home who appreciate and are thankful for his service.

*salutes*

Yakko77 on August 20, 2007 at 7:58 PM

My son serves as a DC on a destroyer in the gulf.

It takes a special breed for that job. Thanks for serving.

Andrew Toppan at Haze Gray and Underway has a short photoessay on the three Vietnam-era carrier fires.

Other photos available at the U. S. Naval Historical Center:

Oriskany
Forrestal

Amazon.com: Paperback – Hardcover
My website: References: Freeman

I’ve seen the official Navy footage of this fire and it is indeed chilling. It’s also great testimony to the heroism of the average American sailor. Many sailors lost their lives attempting to fight the fire because they were armed with only one thing…courage. The catastrophe spread so fast, there was absolutely no time for Fire Fighting Equipment (FFE) to be deployed to those on the flight deck. The sailors never hesitated.

The first wave of sailors who rushed in with fire hoses charged with foam were obliterated in a secondary ordnance explosion. If I recall correctly, the second wave of damage control was also without FFE and perished as well. What those two waves bought with their lives was precious time, no matter how brief. Once FFE was actually available on the flight deck and hanger deck, the resulting fires were able to be brought under control.

Those sailors who died paid the ultimate price not fighting an enemy of the United States. Rather, they were fighting an enemy of mankind…out of control fire. Those who perished to hold back the hungry flames until they could be extinguished should be honored as much as those who finally conquered the blaze.

The Forrestal will forever be an example of near-disaster, courage and fortitude for the US Navy.

pilamaye on August 20, 2007 at 6:59 PM

I don’t know if they still do it, but when I was in boot camp in 1980, the ship’s films were required watching during firefighting training. Really drilled home the point of how important it was to learn the techniques they taught us.

One thing about McCain, he doesn’t quit

This excerpt is from Wikipedia:

On 30 November 1988, a 20mm cannon onboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) accidentally fired on an A-7 Corsair aircraft during maintenance while the ship was conducting operations in the Arabian Sea. Six other aircraft were set on fire and there were two casualties{One sailor killed Nov 30, 1988, and another died Dec 2, 1988 from injuries sustained in that fire. USS NIMITZ WestPac Cruisebook 1988-89} reported as a result.

He was below deck watching this happen on the television screens. He said it was the most terrifying thing he could ever have imagined.