U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes personnel fought a commercial vessel fire in Ashtabula on Friday afternoon, according to a social media post from the agency.
“I’ve been here 40 years, and I’ve never seen that happen,” Dee Whited said.
#BREAKING - #USCG personnel are responding to a commercial vessel fire aboard the CUYAHOGA #Ashtabula by providing on-scene information and status updates via deployed boats and a helicopter. Master and crew of the CUYAHOGA are safe and accounted for.
— USCG Great Lakes (@USCGGreatLakes) March 15, 2024
The fire is ongoing. pic.twitter.com/aQNJUQe4II
The thick black smoke that once clouded the sky in Ashtabula is now gone as multiple agencies across Ashtabula County and surrounding communities worked to put the flames out.
“I figured the boats were on fire because I’ve seen them start up, and little smoke comes out of the stack, but this was pretty bad,” Whited said.
Whited told News 5 she first saw the fire when she left her home, just across from the lake, to go to an appointment.
“I didn’t hear anything, but the smoke filled the sky,” Whited said.
According to the USCG Great Lakes, the Motor Vessel Cuyahoga was getting work done in preparation for the upcoming shipping season when a fire broke out.
A preliminary investigation found the cause to be welding, which ignited paint on the inside of the cargo hold Friday afternoon around 2 p.m. and took about three hours to put out, USCG Great Lakes said.
The ship is one of the oldest ships still traveling the Great Lakes.
From there, Search and Rescue Controller Paul Angelillo says the fire spread to the main deck and eventually caused a conveyor belt to catch fire, too.
“Thanks to the prompt actions of Ashtabula County Emergency Dispatch, assets got on scene, and Ashtabula County firefighters put the fire out,” said Search and Rescue Controller Paul Angelillo.
Angelillo said the master and crew are safe, and he said there does not appear to be any concerns for those living nearby.
“The fire’s out, everybody’s safe, there was little environmental impact, no release of product. There’s no cargo abroad the ship either,” Angelillo said.
It’s not clear if the ship is totaled until Angelillo said marine engineers and architects do further assessments on the damage caused beyond the fire.
“Right now, we have coast guard teams of investigators on board and inspectors that are taking a look at the ship and trying to get a better understanding of if there will be structural damage and then look at the cause and effect of the fire; like how it started,” Angelillo said.
Fire teams will remain on the scene just in case any hot spots catch on fire again.
In May of 2023, the Cuyahoga caught fire overnight on Lake Erie. The fire broke out in the engine, and no injuries were reported.
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