This article references Bonhomme Richard, but many issues cited in it remind me of the George Washington fire back in 2008. Improperly stored HAZMAT fueling a fire possibly started by unauthorized smoking. Like with that ship, the crew was hoarding stockpiles well above proper storage capacity. On GW, I believe the issue was a specific high demand/ long lead time material so the crew bought it in massive quantities well beyond what the HAZMAT locker would accommodate. As I recall, the locker was only built to accommodate a very small amount that did not meet the ships demand, the CO would lose his mind about always running out, so they just ordered an insane amount and stored it wherever they could find space. There was a whole host of other issues as well that let that fire get out of hand. At the time, I believe it was somewhat common practice to disregard certain NAVOSH standards in the name of logistical expediency, but the Navy clamped down hard on it afterwards. As safety officer on a big deck, I often found that NAVOSH instructions regarding such matters were often unfunded mandates and treated largely as suggestions. They complied when able, but they just didn’t have the facilities on board to store what was needed. They also couldn’t afford to run out. I’m not saying I agree, but it’s often a reality. Unfortunately, the best place to hide a stockpile often coincides with the best places to sneak an unauthorized smoke. On Mon, Aug 31, 2026 at 5:04 PM Marc Liebman <marc@marcliebman.com> wrote:

Where were the E-7s in all of this? They should have known better than to store stuff like that. And, is vaping allowed on board? I thought USN ships were smokeless?

Marc Liebman

https://www.marcliebman.com

https://www.facebook.com/marcliebmanauthor/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_sDoFQM5wupNaCeGIvKL1g

*From: *Mike Brattland <mgbrattland@gerlecreek.com> *Date: *Monday, August 31, 2026 at 11:16 AM *To: *HeloBubbas <helobubbas@helobubbas.com> *Subject: *[Helobubbas] USS New Orleans Fire Response Hindered by Initial Confusion, Investigation Shows

https://news.usni.org/2026/08/31/uss-new-orleans-fire-response-hindered-by-i... _______________________________________________ Helobubbas mailing list -- helobubbas@helobubbas.com To unsubscribe send an email to helobubbas-leave@helobubbas.com