Investigation after fire onboard Irish naval vessel

The vessel was evacuated and five units of the Cork County Fire Service responded - one unit from nearby Cobh and four units from Midleton

A fire broke out this afternoon onboard a naval vessel in Cork habour. Picture: Cork Safety Alerts

An investigation is underway after a fire broke out onboard an Irish naval vessel which was tied up in Cork Harbour.

Firefighters from the city and county tackled the blaze which broke on the LE Niamh (P52) just before 12.30pm as she was alongside at Cork Dockyard for routine maintenance.

“While a full investigation into the cause of the fire will be conducted, it is thought to have started in a stores compartment adjacent to where cutting work was being carried out by engineers,” a Defence Forces spokesman said.

pic.twitter.com/XUNHAHD3gw

— Órla 👩‍🦰 (@orlacreedon) October 3, 2020

He confirmed that there have been no reports of injury to naval service personnel or to Cork dockyard staff.

Four crew members were on duty watch onboard the vessel when the fire was spotted just before 12.30pm.

They carried out ‘first aid fire-fighting’ to contain the fire and prevent any spread to the rest of the ship.

The alarm was raised with fire control in Limerick and several units of the Cork County Fire Service were tasked to the incident at 12.26pm.

The vessel was evacuated and the scene was handed over to firefighters from Cobh, who were backed up by four units of the Midleton fire brigade.

Firefighters boarded the vessel and began tackling the blaze below deck.

Fire Brigade units from Cobh, Midleton & @CorkCityFire in support of the @naval_service have successfully extinguished a fire on board the LE Niamh while berthed in Cobh. Great interagency work from @IrishCoastGuard @PortofCork @AmbulanceNAS @GardaTraffic @DoyleShipping @Corkcoco pic.twitter.com/ro9apeNsBx

— Cork County Fire Service (@CorkCountyFire) October 3, 2020

Cork City Fire Brigade dispatched a van to the scene later with extra supplies of foam, and later sent a unit to provide further back-up at the incident.

The fire has been brought under control. It is understood that some firefighters will remain on scene for another hour or two to monitor the ship.