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Tacome Fire Department blamed by Trident for total loss
After the 'Kodiak Enterprise', moored at the Port of Tacoma, burned for over a week in April 8, 2023, its owner, the Trident Seafoods Corp., was casting blame for the blaze’s spread, which it claims led to damages likely north of $100 million. The alleged culprit was the Tacoma Fire Department (TDF). Trident Seafoods has sued the city of Tacoma, accusing the fire department of mishandling the fire initially contained to the forward part of the vessel and disregarding the expertise of a professional marine firefighting company. TFD’s actions caused the fire to grow out of control, producing catastrophic additional damage to the vessel, which had an estimated fair-market value of $185 million, according to the lawsuit filed in Pierce County Superior Court on March 27, 2026. Tacoma hadn’t yet been served with the lawsuit. The fire department arrived on scene on April 8, 2023, at around 3:30 a.m. to fight flames that originated in the forward area of the vessel. While the fire department took command, Trident also engaged a professional marine firefighting company, the Resolve Marine Group, as part of Trident’s federally required plan outlining actions in case of a spill. Resolve personnel began arriving at about 6 a.m. By 1:30 p.m., the fire was “substantially under control” when Resolve recommended that the fire department adopt a defensive strategy, sealing the forward compartments, deprive the fire of oxygen and allow the fire to burn out within the confined spaces over an extended period. The TFD chose another path andt deployed positive pressure ventilation, a technique where a powerful fan is used to pressurise a space. Resolve allegedly disagreed with the strategy, which TFD started implementing at about 6:45 p.m.. leading to a massive increase in smoke within minutes. The blaze grew and, soon after, TFD lost control. The fire spread quickly through the living spaces and superstructure to all other areas of the Vessel, including the engine room and factory. The vessel became a total loss. The Coast Guard, which investigated the fire, determined that the fire started, when combustible materials ignited within the dry stores area of the vessel. Crews had been performing grinding, cutting, welding and other hot work during the ship’s scheduled dockside maintenance perio. The fire’s cause couldn’t be definitely determined, but the Coast Guard pointed to the two most probable factors: Shipyard personnel conducting hot work failed to prevent sparks or hot debris from entering the dry stores loading hatch, and electrical equipment failed within the dry stores area. The vessel’s fire alarm didn’t wake sleeping crew members to provide immediate notification of a fire. The report cited that failure as the primary causal factor of the ship’s constructive loss estimated at $150 million. Three crew members who had been sleeping onboard the ship escaped without getting hurt and were alerted to the fire by a security guard who had been notified by another vessel moored nearby. Months before the blaze, Trident was fined $25,000 by the state Department of Ecology for a fire in 2021 that also destroyed one of the company’s ships at the Port of Tacoma. Trident was penalised for spilling 20 to 30 gallons of hydraulic oil, negligence and not properly reporting the emergency.
Unified Command stood down
The Unified Command composed of Tacoma Fire Department, United States Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound, Washington Department of Ecology and Puyallup Tribe of Indians, with support from several other agencies, which was established to respond to thefire aboard the 'Kodiak Enterprise', was stood down on April 21. Over the last several days, responders alternated between removing fuel and pockets of water, to maintain the vessel's stability. All of the diesel remaining aboard the vessel was successfully removed with no fuel spilled or sheening observed during defueling operations. Now that the pollution threat has been mitigated, the Unified Command has stood down. The Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating the cause of the incident. The final disposition of the vessel has not been determined.
Removal of water and pollutants priority after fire was put out
After the fire aboard the 'Kodiak Enterprise' was finally put out on April 14, investigators who will look for the cause still were not able to board the vessel. First, the removal of the gas, oil, and water still on the vessel had to be finished. The biggest priority was dewatering the vessel to right it. The biggest pollutant on board were about 40.000 gallons of diesel fuel as well as some amounts of oil on board as well. Vacuum trucks hooked up to suck all the fuel off into a storage tank.
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