THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE NAVY
(RESEARCH. DEVELOPMENT. AND ACQUISITION)
1000 NAVY PENTAGON
WASHINGTON, DC 20350-1000

 

July, 24 2020

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SHIPBUILDING AND SHIP MAINTENANCE ENTERPRISE
SUBJECT: Fire Safety

I am calling each and every one of you who builds and maintains our Navy ships to
action. We must all do our part to ensure the safety of our ships, especially ?re safety. I ask you
to take recent events as poignant reminders that each one of us must always keep a constant
attention on safety.

Anyone who steps aboard our ships must be ever vigilant about ensuring ?re safety. I
urge you to use this as the impetus to ensure that our work spaces are clean, that unnecessary
clutter is removed, that all ?re safety measures are being followed and that there is unrestricted
access to ?re?ghting and damage control equipment. We need to make sure that we and those
around us have not only accomplished necessary ?re safety training and are familiar with
established safety procedures, but that we are also prepared to act in order to prevent any ?res or
mishaps. It is critical that we hold ourselves, our teammates and supervisors accountable for ?re
safety.

Preventing shipboard ?res is a team sport, no matter where the ship is in its life cycle,
and no matter who is working on the ship. I am asking that we all ?double down? on ?re safety
to ensure we are able to keep ourselves, our ships and our Sailors safe, and so that we can deliver
and sustain a lethal force for our Navy. Success depends on us getting the small stuff right.
Details matter we each have to do our job thoroughly to prevent the chain of events that could
lead to ?res and accidents.

There is no place in our Navy for complacency the lives of our teammates and the
accomplishment of our mission depends upon it.

aw

James F. Geurts