Fire aboard U.S. aircraft carrier burned for hours, sailors say

It took more than 30 hours for sailors to put out the fire aboard the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford last week, sailors and military officials said, as the beleaguered ship continued its monthslong slog through President Donald Trump's military operations.

The fire started in the ship's main laundry area on Thursday. By the time it was over, more than 600 sailors and crew members had lost their beds and have since been bunking down on floors and tables, officials said.

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The U.S. military's Central Command said two sailors received treatment for "non-life-threatening injuries." People on the ship reported that dozens of service members suffered smoke inhalation.

The ship, along with its 4,500 sailors and fighter pilots, was in the Mediterranean on Oct. 24 when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered it to steam to the Caribbean to add weight to Trump's pressure campaign on Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela's leader before his seizure.

From the Caribbean, the carrier rushed to the Middle East for the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, which is now in its third week.

Speaking to sailors on board aircraft carriers is difficult in the best of circumstances. During a war, the ships and military bases involved in operations go "dark," limiting the ability of service members to communicate with the outside world. The officials and sailors interviewed for this article spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The Ford is now entering its 10th month of deployment. Crew members on the Ford have been told that their deployment will probably be extended into May, which would put them at an entire year at sea, twice the length of a normal aircraft carrier deployment.

The fire, according to two officials, began in the vent of a dryer in the ship's laundry facilities and quickly spread. Sailors battled the blaze for more than 30 hours, officials and sailors said.

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The Navy did not respond to a request for comment. Central Command said in its statement that the fire caused "no damage to the ship's propulsion plant, and the aircraft carrier remains fully operational."

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.