Investigators Search Destroyer for Clues to Fatal Fire

Naval investigators searched the fire-scarred interior of the guided missile destroyer Conyngham on Wednesday in an effort to determine what set off the blaze that killed one sailor and injured 18 others.

A team of investigators and Naval Investigative Service agents were interviewing crew members and examining the ship. The fire erupted in one of the Conyngham’s four boilers as it was being lit during routine maneuvers early Tuesday about 80 miles off North Carolina.

Capt. Paul Hanley, senior public affairs officer for the Atlantic Fleet, said the ship was preparing for an inspection when the fire occurred. He did not know of any previous mechanical problems aboard the ship.

The investigation will focus on equipment, procedures and events leading up to the fire, he said. The investigative team is headed by Capt. Raymond Sharpe Jr., commander of Destroyer Squadron 10 in Norfolk.

The crippled 437-foot destroyer was towed into Norfolk by the Opportune, a Navy salvage ship, early Wednesday morning. About 200 family and friends greeted the crew members in what Navy officials called an emotional reunion.

A dark, blistered area on the ship’s starboard side bore evidence of the roaring fire. One sailor told his mother the flames became so hot that metal decks bubbled and firefighting masks on sailors melted.

The fire started in the forward boiler room and was fed by diesel fuel, said Capt. Joseph Perrotta Jr., skipper of the Normandy, which assisted the Conyngham.

Perrotta praised the Conyngham crew, saying crewmen’s firefighting efforts kept weapons and ammunition areas cool. At no time was ammunition in danger of being set off, he said.