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A28 u.s. news
Diaranson 20 october 2021

Navy probe finds major failures in fire that destroyed ship

of the button or its function,” officers — Capt. Gregory Due to the damage, the Navy
the report said. Thoroman, the commanding decommissioned the ship
officer; Capt. Michael Ray, in April. In August, Seaman
The report spreads blame the executive officer; and Apprentice Ryan Mays was
across a wide range of ranks Command Master Chief Jose charged with aggravated ar-
and responsibilities, from Hernandez — for not effec- son and the willful hazarding
the now retired three-star tively ensuring the readiness of a vessel. He has denied set-
admiral who headed Naval and condition of the ship. ting the fire.
Surface Force Pacific Fleet
— Vice Adm. Richard Brown “The execution of his duties The blaze began in the lower
— to senior commanders, created an environment of storage area, which Mays’
petty officers, lieutenants and poor training, maintenance duty station had access to, ac-
civilian program managers. and operational standards cording to a court document.
A total of 17 were cited for that directly led to the loss of Investigators found three of
failures that “directly” led to the ship,” the report said of four fire stations on the ship
the loss of the ship, while 17 Thoroman. And it said Ray, had evidence of tampering,
(AP) — A Navy report the amphibious assault ship others “contributed” to the Hernandez and Capt. Da- including disconnected fire
has concluded there were for poor oversight, and said loss of the ship. Two other vid Hart, commander of the hoses, and highly flammable
sweeping failures by com- the main firefighting foam sailors were faulted for not Southwest Regional Mainte- liquid was found near the ig-
manders, crew members system wasn’t used because effectively helping the fire nance Center, also failed in nition site.
and others that fueled the it hadn’t been maintained response. their responsibilities, which
July 2020 arson fire that properly and the crew didn’t directly led to the loss of the Efforts to put out the fire
destroyed the USS Bon- know how to use it. Adm. William Lescher, the ship. were hampered because the
homme Richard, calling vice chief of naval operations, ship’s crew and other outside
the massive five-day blaze The report describes a ship has designated the com- The report only provides fire response departments
in San Diego preventable in disarray, with combustible mander of U.S. Pacific Fleet names for senior naval offi- and organizations were not
and unacceptable. materials stacked, scattered to handle any disciplinary ac- cers. Others were described coordinated, couldn’t com-
and stored improperly. It said tions for military members. only by their job or rank. municate effectively, hadn’t
While one sailor has been maintenance reports were It’s not clear if any have yet exercised together and
charged with setting the fire, falsified, and that 87% of the been relieved of command or More broadly, the crew was weren’t well trained, the re-
the more than 400-page re- fire stations on board had removed from jobs as a result slammed for “a pattern of port said.
port, obtained by The Asso- equipment problems or had of the fire. failed drills, minimal crew
ciated Press, lists three dozen not been inspected. participation, an absence of The report was submitted
officers and sailors whose But the report said failures basic knowledge on firefight- by Vice Adm. Scott Conn
failings either directly led to It also found that crew mem- of Brown; Rear Adm. Scott ing” and an inability to coor- to Lescher, who endorsed a
the ship’s loss or contributed bers did not ring the bells Brown, the fleet maintenance dinate with civilian firefight- number of recommended
to it. The findings detailed and alert sailors that there officer for the Pacific Fleet; ers. changes and improvements.
widespread lapses in train- was a fire until a full 10 min- Rear Adm. William Greene, The Navy set up a new fire
ing, coordination, commu- utes after it was discovered. the fleet maintenance officer The ship was undergoing a safety assessment program
nication, fire preparedness, Those crucial minutes, the for U.S. Fleet Forces Com- two-year $250 million up- that conducts random in-
equipment maintenance and report said, caused delays in mand; Rear. Adm. Eric Ver grade pierside in San Diego spections, and has taken steps
overall command and con- crews putting on fire gear, as- Hage, commander of the when the fire broke out. to increase training.
trol. sembling hose teams and re- regional maintenance cen- About 138 sailors were on
sponding to the fire. ter; Rear Adm. Bette Bolivar, board, and nearly 60 were In addition, the Navy con-
“Although the fire was started commander of Navy Re- treated for heat exhaustion, ducted a historical study into
by an act of arson, the ship Sailors also failed to push gion Southwest; Capt. Mark smoke inhalation and minor Navy ship fires. It found
was lost due to an inability the button that would have Nieswiadomy, commander injuries. The failure to extin- recurring trends associated
to extinguish the fire,” the activated the firefighting of Naval Base San Diego; guish or contain the fire led with 15 shipboard fires over
report said, concluding that foam system, even though and Capt. Tony Rodriguez, to temperatures exceeding 12 years, including failures to
“repeated failures” by an “in- it was accessible and could commander of Amphibious 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit in comply with fire prevention,
adequately prepared crew” have slowed the progress of Squadron 5, all “contributed some areas, melting sections detection and response poli-
delivered “an ineffective fire the fire. “No member of the to the loss of the ship.” of the ship into molten metal cies. As a result, Navy lead-
response.” crew interviewed considered that flowed into other parts ers have taken other steps to
this action or had specific The report also specifically of the ship. increase safety.
It slammed commanders of knowledge as to the location faults the ship’s three top

SC attorney Alex Murdaugh denied bond on $3M theft charges

(AP) — A judge denied keeper. least six state investigations by false pretenses. week.
bond Tuesday for a prom- into Murdaugh and his fam-
inent South Carolina at- The ruling means weeks, ily back in June: the deaths of “I’m not satisfied as to his “We understand the judge’s
torney who has become if not months in jail for the his wife and son, who were mental condition,” Newman concerns about Alex’s mental
embroiled in two multi- 53-year-old man who inher- found shot multiple times said, adding that he needed condition. We’re more than
million-dollar insurance ited part of a legal empire outside their home. more information. He said happy to comply with his
fraud cases months after in tiny Hampton County, he would reconsider his de- request,” Harpootlian said,
he found his wife and son South Carolina. Murdaugh’s Defense attorneys asked Cir- cision after receiving it. adding of Murdaugh, “He
dead in their home. father, grandfather and great- cuit Judge Clifton Newman seemed much more clear-
grandfather were all elected to release Murdaugh on his One of Murdaugh’s attor- headed today than I’ve ever
The judge said Alex prosecutors. The family’s law own recognizance, as a dif- neys, Dick Harpootlian, said seen him.”
Murdaugh’s considerable fi- firm, located in the most im- ferent judge had in Septem- after the hearing that thera-
nancial resources and mental pressive building in town af- ber on charges that he tried to pists at the drug rehab cen-
instability appear for now to ter the courthouse, has spent arrange his own death to ob- ters in Georgia and Florida
make it too risky to allow him a century winning multimil- tain a $10 million insurance where Murdaugh spent the
to await trial outside of jail on lion-dollar verdicts. policy. Prosecutors asked for past six weeks will send their
charges he stole $3.4 million a $200,000 bond and GPS records to a local psychiatrist,
in insurance money meant Still unsolved is what start- monitoring for the latest who will prepare a report for
for the sons of his house- ed the legal problems and at charges, obtaining property the judge, hopefully within a