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Comment by NikolaeVarius | Hacker News Reader

Last time I checked, the fire was controlled to be away from munitions and fuel. The stuff burning is pretty much anything that isn't metal scattered around the ship.

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I'm obviously ignorant on this, but I would have expected anything short of munitions or fuel would not have caused this much damage on something as advanced as an aircraft carrier. The article mentioned that having fewer crew members made it harder to handle, but having 160 crew on board with fire and smoke detectors doesn't seem like it should have resulted in this. I hope to one day read the report on how this happened, I clearly have a lot to learn.

According to what I’ve read, the halon fire suppression was down for maintenance when the fire started.

Apparently the fire suppression systems were locked out to facilitate the work and the doors/hatches had temporary cabling/hoses/vents running through them which prevented the crew from quickly locking down areas and control the spread.

Have you ever been on a massive ship? 844 feet long and only 160 crew. How many rooms do you think the boat has? The ship is almost of the size of a Manhattan city block. Imagine a small skyscraper incased in a steel hull.

If the fire was in control it wouldn’t still be burning. This isn’t a forest fire where controlled burns can keep smoldering for days. If the fire was in control it wouldn’t still be burning.

edit: Downvote all you want but if the fire was in control it wouldn’t still be burning.

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