Flash Fire Aboard USS Lake Champlain
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS071112-03
Release Date: 11/12/2007 1:29:00 PM
From Commander, Naval Surface Forces Public Affairs
SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- On Nov. 10, five National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) workers and one employee of Cornwall, a local NASSCO subcontractor, were involved in a flash fire aboard the U.S. Navy's guided missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain (CG 57).
The ship is currently undergoing repairs at San Diego's BAE Systems Ship Repair Facility. NASSCO was contracted by BAE to do some of the work on Lake Champlain.
One NASSCO worker was slightly injured and was treated at the scene; the Cornwall employee was transferred to the UCSD Regional Burn Treatment Center. No U.S. Navy personnel were injured. Lake Champlain's crew provided
the initial medical support to the injured workers.
Initial reports indicate that the flash fire occurred during routine day shift work involving welding and cutting operations with oxy-gas (a working mixture of oxygen and natural gas) equipment.
More detailed, thorough Investigations are being conducted by BAE, NASSCO and the U.S. Navy to determine the exact cause of the fire. Initial surveys conducted by Navy structural engineers have not noted any damage
to the ship.
A standard review of procedures and safety was conducted Sunday, and a full production effort has resumed.
The ship entered the BAE facility in September and is undergoing extensive engineering and quality of life upgrades. The industrial work is scheduled to be completed in 2008 and is expected to return to
training shortly thereafter. It is not anticipated that the ship's schedule will be impacted by this incident.
Lake Champlain is a Ticonderoga-class AEGIS guided missile cruiser, with a crew of over 350 men and women. The ship's weaponry and state-of-the-art electronics truly distinguish her as a multi-mission warship able to engage air, surface and subsurface threats.
Construction on Lake Champlain began in 1986 at Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., and the ship was commissioned a little over two years later. Lake Champlain has deployed to the Western Pacific many
times, including operations in support of Desert Shield, Desert Storm, enforcing the no-fly zone over Iraq, and recently in support of the global war on terrorism with the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group.
On a typical deployment the ship is armed with Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles, Standard SM-2 Surface to Air Missiles, two 5-inch Dual Purpose Guns, and two SH-60B Seahawk helicopters.
BAE Systems Ship Repair is America's leading non-nuclear ship repair, modernization, conversion and overhaul company. San Diego ship repair is BAE systems ship repair's most modern facility. The shipyard is
located on San Diego bay and encompasses 23 acres of property and over 16.6 acres of water area.
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