By JULIE WATSON Associated Press
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Marking significant progress, firefighters were able to move deeper inside the fire-engulfed USS Bonhomme Richard on Tuesday on their third day of battling the flames. But a top Navy official said it was too soon to say if the 23-year-old ship that is burning on opposite ends will be salvageable.
海军官员能够检查四个主要的工程室，没有发现重大损坏，而且该船的外部结构似乎是安全的，后者是罢工集团的指挥官菲利普·索贝克（Philip Sobeck），其旗舰店是邦霍姆·理查德（Bonhomme Richard）。
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But he cautioned at a briefing that there is still “a major fire inside” being fought by hundreds of sailors who were focusing their efforts on two isolated spots near the stern and the bow of the ship. It was unclear if there were two distinct fires on board or if the area burning near the tail end was simply from the heat of a single large blaze, Sobeck said.
It’s also unclear whether the amphibious assault ship that is akin to a mini-aircraft carrier can still be repaired.
“We haven’t been inside the ship well enough to be able to get a full picture, and it’s just too early to tell,” Sobeck said.
The fire temperatures had reached up to 1,000 degrees (538 Celsius), causing the mast to collapse and threatening the central control island where the captain operates the vessel.
在其他进步的好兆头中，大火已经摆脱了船上的一百万加仑（380万升）的燃料，减轻了爆炸或溢出的风险，尽管如果任何一种最坏的情况都应该采取预防措施他说。
Helicopters had dumped 1,200 buckets of water on the ship, allowing crews to move further on board to fight the blaze. Tugboats were assisting from the waterline.
当周日早晨在一个较低的货舱停放的较低的货物区域，这艘840英尺（255米）的船正在维护中进行维护。Sobeck说，似乎已经开始存储纸板箱，破布和其他维护用品。
It spread rapidly from the front to the rear of the ship and quickly ballooned into one of the worst Navy shipyard fires in years. It could cost the military an estimated $4 billion to replace the ship. At least 61 people, including 38 sailors and 23 civilians, have been treated for heat exhaustion, smoke inhalation and minor injuries. None were in the hospital Tuesday.
Maritime lawyer Rod Sullivan, who served in the Navy, said two separate fires on a ship is highly unusual and could raise questions as to whether arson was involved.
“It is very, very difficult for fire to traverse the entire length of ship,” and then to not cause damage in every compartment, said Sullivan, who has handled fire cases involving everything from large passenger ships to yachts. “Arson has to be considered as a possibility here.”
海军官员表示，他们将进行彻底的调查，但他们尚无任何犯规迹象。
Sobeck said the fire appears to have traveled upward to an open hangar-like area and from there, fueled by oxygen, it raced along the ship’s ventilation and cables, causing it to traverse the ship. Cables and duct work being done as part of the ship’s maintenance fed the fire and later created barriers to sailors trying to fight it, Sobeck said.
同样，至少无法使用两个抑制燃烧系统。Sobeck说，一个在船上工作时停用了，另一个因爆炸而无法发射 - 认为这是由于大火开火时的压力而引起的。
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美联社作家约翰·安卡克（John Antczak）向洛杉矶做出了贡献。
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