News

Minor injuries after fire abroard HMCS Protecteur

Source: CTVNews.ca
Author: Sonja Puzic
Published  February 28, 2014

A fire broke out in the engine room of a Canadian Navy ship in the Pacific Ocean Thursday night, but no major injuries were reported, the Department of National Defence said Friday.

HMCS Protecteur was returning to its home port of CFB Esquimalt in British Columbia when the fire broke out around 10:20 p.m. Sailors managed to put out the fire, and some of them sustained minor injuries, DND said in a news release.

The injured are “safe and they are being treated on board,” the department said.

HMCS Protecteur returns to Victoria Friday Oct. 24, 2008.

HMCS Protecteur is located about 630 kilometres northeast of Pearl Harbour, Hawaii and is expected to eventually dock there instead as it now has limited power.

“A full assessment of the situation is being conducted to establish the extent of the damage,” DND said in the release.

The U.S. Navy has sent a destroyer, USS Michael Murphy, to assist HMCS Protecteur.

Returning from operational duties in the mid-Pacific, HMCS Protecteur was carrying 279 crew members, 17 family members and two civilian contractors. The DND said bringing family members on board for the last leg of a sail is common practice when sailors are away for a long period of time.

Last summer, HMCS Protecteur was involved in a collision with HMCS Algonquin during towing exercises en route to Hawaii.

There were no reports of injuries, but the Algonquin sustained significant damage and was removed from operations in the Asia Pacific region. The damage to the Protecteur was not serious.

Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/minor-injuries-after-fire-aboard-hmcs-protecteur-1.1708304#ixzz2udXb8HY7