A fire broke out Friday night aboard a U.S. Coast Guard cutter in dry dock at Port Tampa Bay, sending flames shooting through the roof of the 150-foot vessel, Tampa Fire Rescue said.
Workers at the dock noticed smoke coming from the Sentinel-class cutter Benjamin Dailey and called 911. The first fire rescue crews responded at 7:30 p.m. and saw flames rising from below the deck through the roof of the 350-ton vessel.
A fire commander called for more trucks and firefighters due to “nearby exposures,” fire rescue officials said. It took 45 minutes to bring the fire under control and flames were extinguished shortly after. No injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. The ship was undergoing repairs when the fire broke out, authorities said.
The Benjamin Dailey was commissioned in 2017 Pascagoula, Miss., its home port, and its first crew training was conducted in Key West. The boat isn’t used for Florida operations but was docked in Tampa Bay for standard maintenance, said Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Ayla Hudson. It typically patrols the Gulf of Mexico and assists with search-and-rescue missions.
No one was on board when the fire began, Hudson said.
©2021 Tampa Bay Times. Visit tampabay.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
