Fire Aboard US Navy Warship in Pacific Injures 13

A small fire broke out aboard the US Navy’s USS Antietam Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser last week leaving 13 sailors with minor injuries.

The sailors were hurt while responding to the September 24’s blaze in an engineering space. They returned to duty after being treated by the ship’s medical team, 7th Fleet spokeswoman Cmdr. Reann Mommsen said in an email to Stars and Stripes on Monday night.

“Crew members quickly extinguished the fire with no damage to engineering equipment and Antietam remains fully operational,” she said.

Investigators are working to discover the fire’s cause.

Last week, the warship was participating in Valiant Shield 2020 exercises in the Philippine Sea along with aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh, amphibious assault ship USS America, dock landing ship USS Germantown and dry cargo ship USNS Sacagawea. It also included 100 aircraft and an estimated 11,000 personnel from the U.S. Navy, Air Force, Army, and Marine Corps.

Valiant Shield is a U.S. only, biennial field training exercise (FTX) with a focus on integration of joint training in a blue-water environment among U.S. forces.