Carnival Freedom Cruise Ship Catches Fire at Sea, No Injuries Reported

Fire on Carnival Freedom On a leisurely Saturday afternoon Heath Barnes was enjoying a moment of relaxation on the upper decks of the Carnival Freedom cruise ship Suddenly amidst bouts of rain the tranquility was shattered by the deafening sound of thunder and lightning as recounted by Barnes in an interview with CNN

Discovery of the Fire

Barnes a resident of Woodsboro Maryland was informed by his nephew and his nephews friends all aged 16 about a fire that had broken out on the ship Initially skeptical Barnes ventured out onto the balcony only to be met with the unsettling sight of flames and smoke emanating from the tail of the ship He captured footage of the distressing incident which he shared with CNN

Fire Outbreak and Response

According to a news release from Carnival Cruise Line the fire originated on the port side of the ships exhaust funnel around 315 pm local time Although there were speculations about the ship being struck by lightning this has not been confirmed and an investigation into the cause is underway Carnival Cruise Line reported that the ships fire response team diligently worked to extinguish the blaze while the captain altered the ships course towards an area of heavy rain to aid in quelling the flames

Aftermath of the Fire

Approximately two hours after the ignition the fire seemed to have been successfully extinguished Fortunately there were no reported injuries among the guests However two members of the firefighting crew received treatment for minor smoke inhalation The ship suffered damage as the port side portion of the exhaust funnel collapsed onto deck 10 due to the fire

Location and Impact

The incident occurred when the ship was approximately 20 miles off Eleuthera Island Bahamas en route to Freeport Despite the disruption caused by the fire passengers were able to attend dinner as scheduled on Saturday night and the ships systems were reported to be fully operational by Sunday except for the open decks Carnival Cruise Line confirmed that the ship visited Freeport on Sunday without any operational issues and does not anticipate any impact on the next scheduled voyage

Response and Future Plans

The US Coast Guard has been notified about the incident as per the cruise lines protocol Following the outbreak of the fire passengers were instructed to remain in their cabins until approximately 540 pm Despite the alarming turn of events Barnes who was on his 18th Carnival Cruise trip expressed understanding attributing the incident to Mother Nature and absolving the cruise line of any fault