Missile attack on the Stark ruptured port side fire mains, inhibiting the crew's ability to fight the onboard fire

FIREFIGHTING: THE STARK REALITY

by Captain Ira S. Richman
President and CEO
IMSSCO Corp.

During the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, a young U.S. Navy Ensign helped get his badly damaged ship that was still on fire, get underway and out to sea. While the young ensign lost his a leg during the battle, he helped saved his fellow crewmembers and his ship.

Years later that young ensign, Joe Tassuig, was promoted to Captain and founded UNSECNAV’s Department of Safety and Survivability (S&S), reporting directly to the Secretary of the Navy. The purpose of the newly created department was to not only allow civilian manufacturers of fire fighting and safety equipment to bring their equipment to be evaluated and potentially fielded to the fleet but also “cut the red tape and get that equipment out to the fleet.” Tassuig’s doctrine was always: equipment first and paperwork second.

THE TRIPOLI INCIDENT
During Operation Desert Storm in 1991, the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LPH-10) hit a floating contact mine in the Persian Gulf.

Steve Senk, Chief Engineer, USN (Ret.), who is now Director of Program Management, Continental Maritime of San Diego, Inc., was Chief Engineer of the USS Tripoli (LPH-10) when it hit the mine.

"The blast ripped a 20 foot by 16 foot hole in the ship below the waterline," he recalls, "and was centered directly below the flammable liquid storeroom and paint locker. The force of the blast immediately vaporized all of the paint and flammable material creating a very heavy, explosive mist that permeated the forward quarter of the ship. Any spark or other source of heat would have caused this mixture to explode resulting in catastrophic damage and probable loss of the ship."

"From the sounding of general quarters the crew of Tripoli remained calm and professional as they manned their battle stations, set material condition, and began investigations," recalls Senk. "These reactions were in a large part the result of extensive damage control training conducted en-route to the gulf. This training stressed all of the traditional criteria but added the use of Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Safety and Survivability, Capt. Joe Tassuig's 'DC goodies' that he had delivered to Tripoli prior to her departure from San Diego. Included in this equipment was the S&S Ram Fan, a portable ventilation-air extraction fan that is powered by sea water and connected to a fire house from the fire main. The unique feature of this gear was that it produced no sparks! Thus, it was perfect for ventilating the explosive mixtures onboard Tripoli."

"The S&S Ram Fan coupled with the professional and heroic actions of her crew, saved the ship and allowed her to fight yet another day. These sentiments were expressed by both the Engineer and Commanding Officers who praised Secretary Taussig for his damage control dedication and foresight in a formal letter dated 28th April 2001," says Senk.  

THE STARK INCIDENT

When the USS Stark (FFG-31) took a hit from a pair of Exocet missiles in the Persian Gulf in 1987, its port side fire mains ruptured and its precious supply of A-FFF Foam, which quickly extinguishes Class B oil fires, became unavailable. Additionally, the ship’s damage control and fire fighting inventory did not include many of the important fire fighting and life saving equipment that ordinary fire fighters ashore use every day.

The Stark incident killed 37 sailors, injured 21 others and caused $142 million in damage to the ship.

The terrorist attack on the USS Cole in 2002 caused similar damage to the port side fire mains.

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