The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its findings regarding a fire that broke out aboard the pipelayer Deep Energy in late 2024.
The Deep Energy arrived at the Millard Maritime facility in Theodore, Alabama, on November 24, 2024, to begin a five-week annual maintenance period. While 126 crew members were on board during the early hours of December 1, a smoke detector within the knuckle boom crane cabin activated the fire alarm panel on the bridge at 03:52.
The senior chief mate immediately directed a rigging superintendent to investigate the alarm by climbing the 84-foot (25.6-metre) crane tower. Upon reaching the platform at 04:01, the superintendent confirmed a fire was burning on the starboard side of the cabin and attempted to use a carbon dioxide extinguisher.
The superintendent was unable to suppress the fire and was ordered to descend from the platform for safety. The master subsequently sounded the general alarm and mustered two fire teams to respond according to the vessel fire plan.
Crew members in the engine control room secured all electrical power to the crane by opening the associated electrical breakers. The master directed the senior chief mate to notify the US Coast Guard as the fire grew in intensity and broke the glass of the structure.
A second call was made to the coast guard at 04:08 requesting assistance from the local fire department after the fire began to grow. One fire team attempted to apply water from the main deck, but the stream could not reach the elevated crane cabin.
Firefighters from the Mobile Fire Department arrived at the dock at 04:20 with two trucks, including a ladder unit. The Chief Engineer and the fire department chief coordinated a plan to evacuate the aft section so the ladder truck could apply high volumes of water.
The ladder truck began directing water onto the cabin at 04:37 and continued until flames were no longer visible.
Two members from the vessel fire teams and two local firefighters then ascended the tower using thermal goggles to check for hot spots.
The fire was declared out at 05:00, and the local fire department departed the scene less than one hour later. No injuries were reported, though the crane cabin sustained fire damage estimated at $1.8 million.
NTSB investigators identified a fire pattern on the bulkhead behind a compact refrigerator as the likely origin of the blaze.
A failure of the hermetically sealed compressor or an electrical fault within the appliance or its receptacle may have caused the ignition.
The crane operator noted that he had been in the cabin ten hours before the fire and did not observe any issues. He stated that the refrigerator had been placed in the cabin about six months prior to store water and milk.
The NTSB concluded that the probable cause of the fire was, "likely the result of an unknown malfunction of, or an electrical fault within, the refrigerator or its associated electrical receptacle."
Combustible materials including wooden shelving and plastic bins provided a path for the fire to expand once the ignition occurred, the investigators highlighted.