US Navy aircraft carrier suffers second onboard fire in months

By Baird Maritime - June 30, 2023.

*The US Navy aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln underway in the Atlantic Ocean during a strait transit exercise, January 30, 2019. (Photo: US Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Clint Davis)*

The US Navy has confirmed that one of its aircraft carriers suffered an onboard fire while pierside in San Diego, California, on Wednesday, June 28.

The incident occurred at approximately 14:00 local time on Wednesday when a blaze ignited in the forward emergency diesel generator compartment on the Nimitz-class carrier USS Abraham Lincoln as the ship was undergoing scheduled maintenance.

A navy spokesperson assured that the fire was extinguished within minutes and that non-essential personnel were evacuated as a precaution. No injuries have been reported.

Navy officials said they do not suspect that the fire was deliberately ignited.

This is the second onboard fire to occur on Lincoln following an earlier incident while the carrier was underway conducting routine operations off the coast of Southern California on November 29, 2022. The fire was quickly extinguished, though nine of the ship’s crew had suffered minor injuries.