Ship Fire in the Harrisburg / Manchester Area

WHAT: Ship Fire.

WHEN: August 12, 2022 at 11:10 a.m.

WHERE: 8502 Cypress St. 77012.

INJURIES: One firefighter transported to the hospital.

PROPERTY SAVED: Not available.

DAMAGE: Not available.

CAUSE: HFD Arson investigators classified the incident as “Accidental” due to workers welding inside the ship.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Firefighters arrived on scene within five minutes to find smoke coming from a dry-docked ship under construction. There was a reported fire in the living quarters due to workers welding. All the ship personnel were accounted for and off the ship. HFD crews set up operations and worked to control and extinguish the fire. A rehab section with a metro bus for a cooling station was established, and additional units were requested to rotate crews. Hazmat also responded. Multiple attempts were made to extinguish the fire, however due to the construction of the ship and high heat conditions, the decision was made to not send anymore crews into the vessel. The shipyard supervisor hired a private contractor to handle the remainder of the incident. An HFD unit remained on scene for fire-watch and as a safety precaution for the contractor. One firefighter suffered from smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion and was transported to the hospital. Firefighters from Stations 23, 19, 20, 26, 46, 6, 17, 18, 25, 27, 29, 35, 36, 40, 41, 42, 44, 45, 11, 7, 18, 33, 61, 15, 24, 30, Heavy Rescue 11, Hazmat 22 and Rehab 17 responded to this incident.