Anchorage Daily News

Miles from the factory trawler Pacific Glacier on Tuesday, Coast Guard Cmdr. Kevin Jones could see a thick, black plume rising from the sea, illuminated by the boat's bright lights.

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The 276-foot fishing vessel, built to catch and process pollock, was aflame 136 miles northeast of Dutch Harbor. Jones expected serious damage and possible injuries.

But when Jones' cutter, the Alex Haley, made it to the Pacific Glacier, more than a dozen vessels surrounded it, offering support. One, the American Beauty, had tied up next to it, acting as a staging area for fire crews from other boats waiting to board. By late Wednesday, the Pacific Glacier was limping toward Dutch Harbor and every crew member was safe.

When Jones arrived near midnight Tuesday, crews had been fighting a fire onboard for six hours. It was another four hours before the fire was out. The situation was a remarkable example of cooperation so far out at sea, Jones said.

"These ships, they worked in the harshest environment in the world in the harshest time of year," he said by satellite phone from the Bering Sea 80 miles out of Dutch Harbor. "If they would not have had other vessels around, if they would not have had power, the situation would have been much worse."

The fire, which started in the laundry room around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, was finally extinguished early Wednesday morning. The trawler, piloted by a 16-person skeleton crew, was expected back in Dutch Harbor early this morning . The 90 evacuated crew members reached Dutch Harbor late Wednesday night on two fishing vessels. Crew members will eventually be flown out, according to John Bundy, president of Seattle-based Glacier Fish Co., which operates the processor.

What made fighting the blaze so tricky was that it raged inside the walls, Bundy said. There were few flames, only smoke and steam. Overnight as many as 50 people were involved in fighting the fire, according to Jones. The fire crews used oxygen tanks, which are each good for a half hour. They had no way to recharge the tanks onboard, so other vessels offered their equipment. Crews must have gone through 100 tanks during the night, he said.

"There were times the master was uncertain whether the ship was going to be saved," he said. "The fire was big. It was hard to get to where it was actually burning."

The fire could have snaked its way to the engine or the 155,000 gallons of fuel onboard.

"If that would have ignited, it would have been an absolute disaster for the ship and crew," Jones said.

The cause of the fire is unknown. The ship will stop in Dutch Harbor where the Coast Guard will investigate, and then eventually head to Seattle to be repaired, Bundy said. "We are hopeful that the damage is laundry rooms and a few adjoining staterooms that can be fixed without too much difficulty," he said.

Bundy said he wanted to recognize all the boats that helped out, but hadn't yet for fear of leaving one out.

"A lot of people helped us," he said.

Find Julia O'Malley online at adn.com/contact/jomalley or call 257-4591.

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