NORTON SOUND

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Latest news

Fire out - cause unclear

The blaze that gutted the "Norton Sound" north of Seaport Village was fully extinguished on Oct 4, but fire investigators said the cause of the fire is undetermined. Investigators did rule out arson, saying there was no evidence of such crime onboard the vessel which was still docked at the G street pier. On Oct 4 a hazardous-materials team went inside the board where they took air and water quality samples to determine if it was safe for fire investigators to go on board and examine the interior. Once the fire investigators got the all-clear, they spent several hours scanning the ship for any clues as to how the vessel may have caught fire. In the end, they were not able to make a determination. Investigators with the Fire Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will work together on a report of the incident. The owner will be responsible for removing the boat, which has been docked at the pier for months. Report with photo: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/public-safety/sd-me-boat-fire-20171005-story.html

Fire mostly out

The fire that tore through the "Norton Sound" near Seaport Village was mostly out by Oct 1. The highest temperature reading from inside the ship was approximately 100 degrees The interior of the vessel had continued to burn throughout the weekend. Firefighters monitored the fire and sprayed water on the hull from outside to cool the vessel, but could not enter until temperatures dropped to a safe level. Harbor police used thermal imaging technology to scan for the hottest spots on the ship. The department has handled most of the fire fight, using its 40-foot FireStorm 36 boats to spray around 2,000 gallons of water per minute at the Norton Sound. The San Diego Fire-Rescue also sprayed from the pier, but only for a few hours. Now that the fire appeared to be out, the authorities would determine how to proceed with an investigation of the fire. Authorities were also having trouble locating the vessel's owner as the Norton Sound Seafood Products, based in Alaska, which was registered by the US Coastguard has sold the vessel, and the agency did not have the current owner in its database. On Oct 1 a Port District spokeswoman said records showed the vessel was owned by Liliana Guadalupe, Jimenez Gonzalez and Samuel Ramos, with a Jalisco, Mexico address. Reports with photos and video: http://fox5sandiego.com/2017/10/01/fire-that-tore-through-ship-in-san-diego-harbor-mostly-out/ http://www.kusi.com/story/36485280/firefighters-battle-boat-fire-in-san-diego-harbor http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/public-safety/sd-fi-boat-smoke-update-20171001-story.html

Fire continues to smoulder

The fire that tore through the "Norman Sound" near Seaport Village continued to burn into the evening of Sep 30. The blaze erupted for unknown reasons inside the vessel about 9:30 a.m. on Sep 29. Firefighters initially battled the flames from inside, finding no victims, but were ordered to pull out because of the intensity of the fire inside the boat after about a half-hour. The fire seemed to mostly burn itself out, then flared up again later in the day. The interior of the vessel continued to burn. Firefighters stayed on scene all night to monitor the ship, rotating every three hours. Crews also checked the mooring lines every hour to ensure they did not burn. On Sep 30 the fire appeared to be localized in the bow of the vessel. The firefighters continued to apply water to the outside of the hull to cool the vessel. Crews cannot enter the vessel until temperatures drop to a safe level. Thermal imaging showed temperatures of over 300 degrees Fahrenheit inside the vessel. NRC, an environmental company contracted through the Coast Guard, placed a boom around the ship that can hold up to 50,000 gallons of hazardous materials. The vessel contained diesel fuel as well as fuel oil. The ship has a 38,000-gallon fuel tank, but how much was inside is unclear. Firefighters did not have an estimate on when the blaze will be put out. Two engine companies were at the scene in the afternoon, but this was scaled back to one engine company at 8 p.m. That engine company will continue to monitor the fire throughout the night. One firefighter was taken to a hospital for treatment of heat exhaustion after battling the blaze in the morning of Sep 29, and was released about 5 p.m. the same day.