Scaffold of submarine being build at Electric Boat catches fire

Christine Dempsey

July 27, 2022Updated: July 27, 2022 2:08 pm

FILE – The United States Navy’s nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Vermont is christened at Electric Boat in Groton, Conn., Oct. 20, 2018.

Sean D. Elliot/Associated Press

GROTON — City crews along with several other agencies responded to a fire on the scaffolding of a submarine under construction at General Dynamics Electric Boat shipyard Wednesday morning, officials said.

No one was injured in the fire, which was reported at Electric Boat, 75 Eastern Point Road, about 11:10 am Groton firefighters and surrounding agencies, including Naval firefighters and crews from Electric Boat, responded to the scene.

Officials at Electric Boat said the blaze was limited to the exterior of the submarine under construction and would not hold up production of the boat. The portion of the submarine that would house nuclear capabilities had not been built yet, Groton firefighters said.

There were no injuries, Groton fire Capt. Daniel Tompkins and Electric Boat spokesperson Dan McFadden said.

The fire, which McFadden described as small, was on top of a section of the unassembled submarine. It didn’t have any radioactive material, he said.

The fire “was out very quickly,” McFadden said.

Groton firefighters were on the scene for about 90 minutes, Tompkins said. The city in conjunction with Electric Boat will be in charge of the investigation of how the blaze started, Tompkins said.

McFadden called the damage to the submarine “minimal” and said “all personnel have been accounted for.”

Written By

Peter Yankowski, Lisa Backus

Christine Dempsey is a veteran reporter with decades of experience at newspapers in Connecticut and New York, including The Bristol Press, the Journal Inquirer and The Hartford Courant. She has covered everything from town meetings and light features to breaking news. She has ridden in patrol cars and even bicycled with officers to better learn how police do their jobs. She has won awards for her crime stories, tales of heroic rescues and for chronicling the lives of people experiencing homelessness. She loves to tell a good narrative story.

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