A fire that broke out aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford while it was operating in the Middle East as part of the ongoing US-Israeli war with Iran has left more than 600 service members without beds, TRT and the New York Times reported.
The fire broke out in the aircraft carrier's laundry room last week, and military officials said it took crew members more than 30 hours to put it out.
Dozens of service members suffered from smoke inhalation, and two were treated for injuries that are not life-threatening.
Crew members who lost their beds are now sleeping on the floor and on tables, and because the fire started in the main laundry area, sailors are unable to wash their clothes.
On October 24 of last year, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the aircraft carrier, along with its 4,500 sailors and fighter pilots, to move from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean. It was part of a broader buildup of U.S. military forces aimed at increasing pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro before his capture in early January.
The ship then sailed for the Middle East for the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, now in its third week.
The crew is entering its 10th month of deployment, and if the carrier remains at sea through mid-April, it would break the record for the longest carrier deployment since the Vietnam War.
Since the crew said they had been told their deployment would likely last until May, they are likely to surpass the record of 294 days at sea set by the crew of the aircraft carrier "Abraham Lincoln" in 2020.
U.S. Central Command said the fire “did not cause damage to the ship’s propulsion system and the aircraft carrier remains fully operational,” but crew members noted that the plumbing system of the 650 toilets on board is often damaged.
“Ships also get tired and worn out during long deployments,” explained Rear Admiral John F. Kirby, a retired naval officer and Pentagon press secretary in the Joe Biden administration. “You can’t run a ship that long and that hard and expect it and its crew to operate at maximum capacity.”
Despite the fire incident, the aircraft carrier is conducting flight operations around the clock, Navy officials said.