U.S. Nuke Missile Silo Fire Went Unnoticed

Fire At Unmanned Launch Site Caused $1M In Damage; Wasn't Detected For Five Days

(AP)  A fire caused $1 million worth of damage at an unmanned underground nuclear launch site last spring, but the Air Force didn't find out about it until five days later, an Air Force official said Thursday.

The May 23 fire burned itself out after an hour or two, and multiple safety systems prevented any threat of an accidental launch of the Minuteman III missile, Maj. Laurie Arellano said. She said she was not allowed to say whether the missile was armed with a nuclear warhead at the time of the fire.

Arellano said the Air Force didn't know a fire had occurred until May 28, when a repair crew went to the launch site - about 40 miles east of Cheyenne, Wyo., and 100 miles northeast of Denver - because a trouble signal indicated a wiring problem.

She said the flames never entered the launch tube where the missile stood and there was no danger of a radiation release.

The fire, blamed on a faulty battery charger, burned a box of shotgun shells, a shotgun and a shotgun case that were kept in the room, Arellano said. A shotgun is a standard security weapon at missile silos.

Arellano said the battery chargers at all U.S. missile launch site have been replaced.

She said the incident wasn't reported sooner because of the complexity of the investigation.

The damage from the fire was estimated at $1 million, including the cost of replacing damaged equipment and cleanup.

An Air Force report of the incident released Thursday found flaws in the technical orders for assembling battery charger parts, inspection procedures and modifications of the launch complex ventilation system. It was also critical of the presence of flammable materials.

Cheyenne Mayor Jack Spiker, who said he learned of the incident when contacted by a reporter Thursday, said the fire doesn't undermine his confidence in the safety of the missile operations.

"It's rare that they have an accident, and the accidents have never really, that I know of, amounted to much because of the safety devices that are built into the system," he said.

The revelation was the latest in a string of embarrassing missteps involving the nation's nuclear arsenal. In 2006, four electrical fuses for ballistic missile warheads were mistakenly shipped to Taiwan, and in 2007, a B-52 bomber was mistakenly armed with six nuclear-tipped missiles when it flew between Air Force bases in North Dakota and Louisiana.

The Air Force announced last week it was setting up a new Global Strike Command to better manage its nuclear-capable bombers and missiles.

[geneebathe]

I missed something here...how a small fire in a missile silo became neocon vs liberal issue. It was a fire. If anything it speaks to lack of attention to detail and process. It''s good to know that fire suppression systms exist and work in Minutemen silos but where are the alarms that would notify a command center of fire in an unmanned silo? This is more a matter of failure of inspection, process and technology. To accuse any branch of our military as being afraid to face the enemy smacks of low-life cowardice! I notice that the moron making that claim didn''t sign his real name to his post!(swensbckcuf) How about exercising a bit of restraint and some of the old fashioned American common sense (we used to be renowned for that) and looking for better solutions? All of this passive aggressive jumping to conclusions and willingness to foist blame is indicative of the lack of maturity and unwillingness to accept responsibility that are among the root causes of problems in our society. These defects of character are not liberal or conservative, they are tragic and limiting.

[toolmangler-2009]

Sounds like these missle silos have already been turned over to private enterprise -- like Blackwater.
Posted by easeup at 09:19 AM : Oct 31, 2008



Blackwater is what I helped my Father-in-law pump out of his RV when we laft a campground.... Pppphhheeewwww

[toolmangler-2009]

Then watch all the LIBS move to Canada or Mexico because they are COWARDS deep down.
Posted by BlackBabyMom at 09:25 AM : Oct 31, 2008



Do you think that all the draftees are Republican? That why they are in power, (to keep their kids from serving in Iraq) ssshhhheeeeeesssshhhhh

[blackyowe]

Because Bush does not let the truth about anything out is way we didn''t hear about this.

[toolmangler-2009]

Well who really pays attention to those things. The fire burned itself out anyways so shut up liberals!
Posted by gop_will_win at 08:51 AM : Oct 31, 2008


You are right!!! besides even if it hadn''t burned out by itself the nuclear explosion would have extinguised it......
DUH!!!!!!!!

[blackbabymom]

LOL at all the LIBs who have no understanding of issues. Once Obama is elected - we can expect a draft at the end of the first term. Then watch all the LIBS move to Canada or Mexico because they are COWARDS deep down.

[easeup-2009]

Whooo-hoooo! That''''s Neocon(victs) de-regulation, for ya, fersure!!!

Sounds like these missle silos have already been turned over to private enterprise -- like Blackwater.

Is it a secret, that that''''s the plan?

The Rethuglican Party -- Government of the Lobbyists, By the Lobbyists, and For the Lobbyists.

Posted by imprisonrove at 09:09 AM : Oct 31, 2008

You''re too stupid to even know what you''re ranting about.

Privatizing nuclear weapons?

What an idiot.

[docpeter1953]

From the above article, "A fire caused $1 million worth of damage at an unmanned underground nuclear launch site last spring, but the Air Force didn''t find out about it until five days later, an Air Force official said Thursday."
----------

With all of the military''s available technology you would think they would/could place a smoke detector or a carbonmonoxide detector in or near the silo.

[gop_will_win]

Well who really pays attention to those things. The fire burned itself out anyways so shut up liberals!

[longtree-2009]

the nation''s enemies read these news stories and they become less fearful of america.