TRIAL BY FIRE

then out of place or in areas where they didn't belong more than a handful of them out of uniform or without detective gear of any kind how important were these factors were they part of an overall pattern that could end only in tragedy or weren't they important at all [Music] the chances are no one will ever know the full story even with written testimony the passage of time as a way of failing or obscuring important facts in the forestalls case however there is another record a visual one recorded by a navy film television or plat camera mounted on the bridge during launch and recovery operations it's not unusual for a carrier to use several plant cameras to record takeoffs and landing their electronic readout which is fed to various parts of the ship including the command plot the bridge and the communication center is also recorded on magnetic tape for delayed playback at debriefing and fatigue using that visual record let's go back now to July 29 1967 the time is 1351 and cotton they're on deck somehow a Zuni rocket has been triggered roaring across the flight deck and hitting an a4 Skyhawk a sheet of flame from the a4s ruptured fuel tank has enveloped the Skyhawk and her immediate neighbors behind that curtain of smoke - 1000 pound bombs have already dropped from her wings onto the burning deck here almost at mid screen we see a crash crew chief moving toward the flame with a purple cape fire extinguisher his only thought that trapped pilots in those planes Oh in order to control the fire the captain orders the Forrestal to slow-speed back on the flight deck with precious seconds ticking away kingdom charter people wrong fire has completely blanketed the stern fire mainland making its plugs inaccessible and the next-to-the-last lube app has developed pump problem the only alternative is to haul hoses asked from the forward station and this takes time pressure 15:52 and 43 seconds the two main fire parties are now on deck working close to the flame but so far only one hose is actually operating the first explosion carries a message the Forrestal is in deep trouble at one end the chain has started yet those who have survived it turn around and head back there are buddies back chief with the purple pee a fire had seen the ultimate nightmare breaking season you can't run away from there's nowhere to go it's a fight for survival instinct have to be right your courage comes on like a badge following the third explosion the first to fire parties have been virtually wiped out the fire was not completely out of control a great ship was on the verge of dying to save her other men were going to have to go back on deck most of them without sufficient training firefighting techniques down below fuel was pouring through holes in the flight that caused by the continuous 1,000 pound bomb explosion the fire had chased after the fuel spreading quickly to the ODE 302 and oh one gallery decks and to the after end of hangar bay 3 topside the only hope was that the explosions would somehow subside until we did no firefighting team could possibly survive on in all during the fires first five minutes my major explosion could take place on the planet as the first of the entered were brought to safety to the sponson Erica another release party was already forming up they knew what they needed most on Dex the foam poses for some unknown reason one or more of the fog foam stations hadn't been initially charged some of the firefighters even didn't know that it was necessary to perform certain manual functions on the flight deck and hangar decks to get the phone systems operating or they were injured or killed before they come on deck the relief party's first move was to lay down a curtain of foam between the flames and the forestalls island once this buffer zone was established some of the damaged planes could be moved to safety along the port side where most of the armed aircraft were parked things were still out of control [Music] dropped in close-quarters between a constantly exploding Inferno and the edge of the deck several men had no choice they went overboard some were actually blown over the side luckily for the ones who survived the experienced rescue helicopters from the carrier Oriskany and two destroyers had arrived on the scene as quickly as they could they swept into the forest all's wait to make pickup here on the lower left-hand corner of the plant camera picture is further evidence of a successful team effort notice that a fog nozzle has been correctly brought into play over the heads of the firefighters to protect them as they work leadership and on debt communications were early casualties of the Forrestal fight damage can call and repair party personnel were often unidentified for long periods of time as a result but some of the more inexperienced people did lend a hand they made several well intentioned but nearly disastrous mistakes at one point close to the island true water hose team were working in tandem with a foam hose team the end result the water washed away the foam and the fire continued glazing the way but whatever their fault whatever mistakes they made it's impossible to fault their courage before this day was over 134 of them would pay with their lives to be listed as missing [Music] due to the fire suddenness and intensity the sickbay filled up quickly with the engine so quickly in fact that an emergency battle dressing station had to be set up on the folks less than an hour after the fire broke out word came from Donna but the hospital ship repose was on its way it would be there the following morning meanwhile the two destroyers in the immediate vicinity took turns moving in to supply what they could and continued picking up fire fighters who had gone overboard [Music] four minutes after the fire started the divisional doors between hangar Bay's 1 & 2 & 2 & 3 had been closed effectively isolating each of the bays and preventing the spread of the fire in hangar bay 3 the sprinkler system and some effective work with the foam hose kept the fire confined to the engine shot the after end of the bay itself here has everywhere on board air group personnel and air Department personnel all men not assigned to any specific firefighting duties pitched in to help in those hangar areas still untouched by the fire regular crew teams and all available personnel worked feverishly to bring aircraft topside and all the way forward on the flight deck and one of the sponson areas the firefighters had decided to stay with it there were only two ways out through the fire or over the side they took the fire they had no way of knowing that the fire boundaries had already been firmly established if everyone played his cards right it wouldn't spread any further the flames could now be fought at progressively compartment by compartment textbook fashion until the fire was up on deck the first sign that the battle was being one was the presence of white smoke obviously the foam and fog nozzle team for doing an effective job but here and there several glaring errors were still being committed several hose teams at men who without shirts of protective gear of any cotton a fuel tank explosion close up no matter how small would have burned most of them to a crisp and almost unbelievably some of the water hose teams were still hard at work washing away the protective blanket the foam teams had laid down here in their black smoke and actually started rising again in the words of one observer a veteran firefighter over times on the forestalled and the men seem to be using water for water sake if they found an open hole caused by one of the bomb explosions they just kept pouring water in it results the forest all suffered thousands of dollars worth of damage to its onboard computers and several other pieces have been purchased here which hadn't been directly threatened by the fire by mid-october helicopters from the carrier's Oriskany and phenom rashard were arriving on deck with fresh foam and oba canisters and then taking the overflow of the Forrestal wounded back with them to their sick the air [Music] [Music] the fire on deck would end on the afternoon it began the Flyers below would rage on through the night and into the evening of the following day the original in-depth cleaning and firefighting is grassley important but so is constantly treated every man on board should have been familiar with the ship's firefighting gear and its use [Music] some men never reached a General Quarters station others unsure of alternate exits were ways out were trapped below and God [Music] many of the firefighters black leadership the chain of command had to be rebuilt on the spot after the first two firefighting teams were destiny [Music] too much time was spent struggling with items like the Oba some of the men actually had to stop and read the instructions before they can use only untrained men would spray water across a foam blanket was doing its job only untrained men with hot handle unexploded ordnance or kick it across the deck with their feet these are things that can't be learned on the spot or after a fire starts the fact that the men of the forest all pulled it off is a tribute to their coolness and courage but we'll never know how many men were lost because some things were done the wrong way in all 134 men were listed as killed or missing damage to the ship exclusive of aircraft and other area quipment was estimated in excess of 72 million dollars the Forrestal fire is a story of extraordinary heroism trial and error under unbelievable pressures and tragic death it's a story that the Navy clearly would rather not live over again so learn your firefighting techniques then relearn them but learn learn or burn baby learn open