Submarine fire survivors tell of blaze horror

Survivors of a fatal fire on a submarine today spoke of their experience as Canada’s defence minister said he could not rule out suing the British Government.

Bill Graham, speaking after a fire crippled HMCS Chicoutimi on her maiden voyage and claimed the life of one its crew, said Canada could take legal action against the Ministry of Defence.

He was speaking as her 54-strong crew, recovering from their ordeal at a Scottish hotel, said they thought they were going to die at sea.

The former British vessel and three others were sold to Canada in 1998 but remained in British hands as BAE Systems prepared her for going back into service.

Lieutenant Commander Douglas Renken, 38, – one of nine casualties treated for smoke inhalation – said: “I took two or three gulps of bad air before I got a mask and there was a point where I thought I wasn’t going to be able to take another breath. That was going to be it.

“I’m still a little shaky but grateful to be here. I will never forget it.”

Lt Com Renken, who has a four-year-old daughter and a seven-year-old son, said he had been 10ft away from where the fire broke out in an electrical panel on the port side of the ship.

“I heard huge popping sounds and (saw) sparks and flames shooting out of the electrical space,” he said.

“It was brutal. The smoke was thick to the point we could barely see the lighting we did have on.”

Lieutenant Chris Saunders, 32, a father of two young sons, was airlifted to hospital in the Republic of Ireland with two other casualties suffering from smoke inhalation but later died and was yesterday repatriated with full military honours.

“I feel the same as everybody else about the loss of one of our brothers,” said Lt Com Renken today.

“Our community is very small and we’re very tight-knit. Will I get over it? I don’t know, I suppose I’m going to have to.”

Petty Officer Francis Couture, 36, a father-of-two who has served in the navy for 19 years, told of how he feared for his life when the blaze broke out on Tuesday.

“At first we heard cracking noises and I thought somebody had fallen down,” he said.

“Then I turned around and saw the flames. The alarm sounded and we started breaking out the masks but by that time the power had gone off.

“We knew we were in for something quite bad. It was scary. I thought I was going to die.”

He said the mood on board had been “sombre” but that the crewmen had bottled up their emotions until setting foot back on dry land.

“I think the adrenalin and the fright aspect took over,” said the submariner.

“It was sombre, because we knew guys weren’t fully well. Some of these boys I have known for 15 years.

“When we paid our respect of Chris Saunders, that was moving. Chris was close to the fire.

“When we heard the cracking pow, pow, pow, he was right beside me, but where he went, I honestly don’t know.

“You didn’t want to break down in front of the guys. We were 54 guys who were so close. You don’t have a choice: if you don’t keep going, who knows who else is not going to keep going?”