May fire damaged cables leading to nuclear ICBM

[unhappycamper]

Fire in ICBM room
Damage from blaze not found until 5 days later


May fire damaged cables leading to nuclear ICBM
By Michael Hoffman - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Oct 31, 2008 7:56:47 EDT

A fire broke out inside the equipment room of a launch facility that houses a nuclear armed intercontinental ballistic missile at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., on May 23.

No damage was done to the nuclear missile and no one was hurt at the unmanned launch facility, said Air Force Space Command officials.

The damage from the fire, which extinguished itself, was not discovered until five days after it started during a thunderstorm that temporarily knocked out power at the site, said Maj. Laurie Arellano, a Space Command spokeswoman.

An investigation board found the fire was started by a faulty battery charger that created a plume of hydrogen gas inside the facility. The gas was ignited by a spark from a loose connection inside the charger when the facility switched over to battery power during the storm.

The fire, which caused over $1 million of damage to equipment, burned through several cables that lead to the nuclear-armed ICBM. However, the fire never made it out of the equipment room and into the launch tube.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/10/airforce_nuclear_fire_103008w/%2e

[newfie11]

1. Happy to know this (below)

as this missile silo was 40 miles east of Cheyenne. Out my way.

"there was no risk of an inadvertent launch, explosion or release of nuclear material due to its advanced design, "