Above: Electric Boat Fire Chief Jeff Chandler (center) stands among crew members of USS Hartford and area first responders.
The Electric Boat Fire Department (EBFD) conducted a submarine fire drill this morning aboard the USS Hartford at the Groton shipyard. The drill followed a tabletop exercise that took place in March in preparation for today’s full-scale response to the potential scenario of a fire on-board a submarine.
Supporting this full-scale simulation was Electric Boat, City of Groton and Sub Base New London personnel, the crew of the USS Hartford, over 20 surrounding fire departments and other outside first responders. Fire trucks and ambulances arrived outside the shipyard gates prior to the 9:00 a.m. start time before making their way through the south yard ways and staging near the Hartford in Graving Dock 2.
“The Electric Boat workforce collectively collaborated with ship force personnel from the USS Hartford and our mutual aid partners to test our Submarine Fire Response Plan,” said Jeff Chandler, Electric Boat’s Fire Chief. “We accomplished our goal of continuous water application to the simulated fire and are taking the lessons learned to apply to our response plan. This exercise demonstrated the strong commitment to emergency response which keeps our employees safe and protects our critical infrastructure.”
