Fire today (Wednesday) below deck on the USS Midway Museum in San Diego. No injuries reported.
In 1990, while on routine flight operations northeast of Japan, there were two explosions and a fire that burned for hours aboard the USS Midway. Two crewman were killed and nine others injured. (Watch videos of CNN coverage at bottom of this post.)
KGTV:
A three-alarm blaze broke out below the flightdeck on the USS Midway Museum Wednesday morning in the San Diego Bay.
The fire was reported at about 5:30 a.m. at the decommissioned aircraft carrier, which is in the Embarcadero at 910 North Harbor Drive. A Midway employee who was aboard the ship told 10News that the fire may have been caused by a welder who was cutting into a wall near the flightdeck, but that was not confirmed by San Diego Fire-Rescue officials.
Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune:
Firefighters were called around 5:30 a.m. to the permanently docked aircraft carrier at Navy Pier in downtown and found light smoke inside, said Lee Swanson, a spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. Officials believe the fire, located in an area two decks below the flight deck, was started by welding work. Locked doors made access to the blaze difficult, Swanson said.
The aircraft carrier museum is considered a high-rise so a second alarm was immediately called. The blaze went to a third alarm, which summoned more firefighters and equipment, because firefighters were having trouble getting to the blaze. However, Swanson said many firefighters remained in a staging area and didn’t go onto the ship.
HAPPENING NOW 3 alarm fire on USS Midway two decks below the flight deck. pic.twitter.com/r3EQ0xB5Ek
— SDFD (@SDFD) July 15, 2015
#Midway IC- Fire is knocked down. Crews venting smoke from the ship. Units in staging being released. #SanDiego https://t.co/lX7pKLUzOW — SoCal Safety 1st (@SoCalSafety1st) July 15, 2015
UPDATE: Welder’s spark started fire below deck on the Midway Museum http://t.co/ndQcdTOK53 pic.twitter.com/wiGSn3KzW5
— #NBC7 San Diego (@nbcsandiego) July 15, 2015
