WSF weekly update includes saga of a fire aboard the Wenatchee

||| FROM PATTY RUBSTELLO for WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES |||

Wenatchee engine room fire

Thankfully, no one was hurt when an engine on Wenatchee caught fire last Thursday while the vessel was conducting sea trials with no passengers aboard. The crew, who are well-trained for emergency situations including firefighting, contained and extinguished the fire. The ferry used one of its four engines with tug assist and returned to our Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility. I am incredibly proud of the deck and engine crews on board Wenatchee that day for their outstanding response.

Aftermath of the fire in the engine room aboard Wenatchee following a catastrophic engine failure after an apparent crankcase explosion. 

This incident is an example of why we do sea trials after major vessel work, to ensure the ferry is in safe, working order before returning to service. As always, safety is our number one priority. We are working with the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board in investigating the cause of the engine fire.

Due to damage to one of the vessel’s engine rooms, Wenatchee will likely be out of service for several months. We do not know yet how this incident will affect service across our system, but we’ll keep you posted on any changes. Thank you for your patience and understanding. I also want to thank everyone involved. The response to this significant and serious event makes me proud to be part of the WSF team and our maritime community.

Another class of new terminal employees enters our workforce

Our third class of terminal new hires completed training on Saturday. With this group of nine graduates entering our workforce Sunday, we have now trained 29 new terminal employees in the past month! New hires for our fleet are critical to our plans to increase service in the weeks ahead and throughout the summer months.

Nine new terminal employees posed for a photo at our Bainbridge terminal following completion of training.