“Although the fire was started by an act of arson, the ship was lost due to an inability to extinguish the fire,” Conn wrote in his investigation, which was completed in April and reviewed by USNI News this week. Scott Conn, found that the two-year-long \$249 million maintenance period rendered the ship’s crew unprepared to fight the fire the service says was set by a crew member. The investigation into the fire aboard Bonhomme Richard, overseen by former U.S. Navy trains sailors to fight fires in shipyards – are responsible for the five-day blaze that cost the service an amphibious warship, according to an investigation into the July 2020 USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) fire reviewed by USNI News. Long Chain of Failures Left Sailors Unprepared to Fight USS Bonhomme Richard Fire, Investigation FindsĪ cascade of failures – from a junior enlisted sailor not recognizing a fire at the end of their duty watch to fundamental problems with how the U.S. naval history, several of the most heroic passages are fire-fighting efforts that saved stricken ships from destruction. Navy is supposed to be pretty good at putting out fires. My suspicion was wrong: the arsonist sailor was, apparently, a white guy upset over a romantic setback with a sailorette.īut, the U.S. When the Navy’s large amphibious assault ship / light aircraft carrier Bonhomme Richard under repair in San Diego harbor burned past hope of repair during July 2020, I speculated this multi-billion dollar disaster might have something to do with the Racial Reckoning.