The Navy preaches that damage control and firefighting are duties of every sailor on board a vessel, regardless of rank or rating, and sailors frequently train on how to battle a blaze, like these shipmates on board the guided-missile destroyer Carney while it was underway in the Mediterranean Sea on April 21, 2020. A fire erupted on board Carney while it was pierside at Naval Station Mayport on Dec. 23, 2022, but the crew put it out before first responders arrived. US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Austin G. Collins.
An early morning blaze erupted on board the guided-missile destroyer Carney at Naval Station Mayport, but officials told Coffee or Die Magazine the hose team extinguished the fire quickly.
The Arleigh Burke-class Carney was pierside at its Florida homeport when watchstanders discovered the fire at approximately 3:43 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 23, inside the vessel's tiny learning and recreation classroom.
But they’d put the blaze out before Jacksonville first responders arrived.
“Ship’s crew extinguished the fire and de-smoked the affected spaces. Six Sailors were transported to Baptist Beach Hospital for medical evaluation due to smoke inhalation, and have all since been released," said Lt. Cmdr. Jason S. Fischer, the spokesperson for Naval Surface Force Atlantic, in an email to Coffee or Die. "The Navy will investigate the cause of the fire and determine the extent of the damage.”
Officers and crew of the guided-missile destroyer drew praise for executing a perfect Chapter 12 fire drill on board the warship on Feb. 11, 2022, while it was undergoing maintenance at Naval Station Mayport in Florida. US Navy photos.
The Navy preaches that damage control and firefighting are duties of every sailor on board a vessel, regardless of rank or rating, and sailors frequently train on how to battle a blaze.
On Feb. 11, while Carney was undergoing a maintenance availability, the warship’s crew was lauded for a perfect Chapter 12 fire drill alongside Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department responders. The exercise simulated a blaze on board ship, exactly what happened Friday morning.
Investigators continue to probe the Nov. 29 fire on board the Nimitz-class aircraft Abraham Lincoln while it sailing roughly 30 nautical miles off the Southern California coast.
Like Carney, Lincoln’s crew quickly spotted the blaze and put it out, but not before nine sailors suffered what officials called “minor injuries.”
Commissioned in 1996, Carney was forward-deployed at Naval Station Rota in Spain from 2015 to 2020. It then returned to Mayport.
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Carl Prine is a former senior editor at Coffee or Die Magazine. He has worked at Navy Times, The San Diego Union-Tribune, and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He served in the Marine Corps and the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. His awards include the Joseph Galloway Award for Distinguished Reporting on the military, a first prize from Investigative Reporters & Editors, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
