On 6/16 just before 0900 hrs the crew of the 742 foot long cargo vessel Sophie Olendorff was off-loading their cargo of aggregate (rocks) when they saw smoke coming from the ship's very large conveyor belt housing system. The crew quickly realized the fire was too big for them to control and they called for help. All 32 of the crew members, all international citizens, no Americans, were moved safely away from the fire. TFR got the first call for help at 0848 hrs.

On scene within a few minutes fire crews reported smoke and flames coming from the conveyor belt system. Fire crews had several challenges first the conveyor belt arm was hanging high above the dock and access was difficult. The conveyor belt was being damaged by fire and was threatening to collapse. On the dock there was a sulfuric acid pipeline and although it was not in use there was some residual product in the pipe and if the pipe got damaged the sulfuric acid would be released. Then there was the heat and humidity taking a toll on the firefighters as they wore 50-60 pounds of firefighting gear.

During the firefight a powerline on the dock came down and fell onto a fence and the aforementioned sulfuric acid line. The charged electrical line started several small grass fires. Fire crews had to protect themselves from the downed line until Tampa Electric could arrive on scene and shut off the power. TECO was on scene quickly and had the situation under control in less than 30 minutes.

Tampa Fireboat Patriot which was delivered in September 2009 played a key role in battling this blaze. The Patriot gave fire crews good access to the side of the ship that was facing towards the shipping channel. The fireboat pumped about 6,000 gallons per minute of water onto the rear of the conveyor belt so fire crews could stay back a safe distance and so the fire would not spread to the ship.

Fire commanders chose to use firefighting foam to try and suppress the flames. US Coast Guard reps on scene stated the foam is not considered a pollutant. It took nearly four hours to suppress the fire and the situation was under control about 1300 hrs.

Five (5) firefighters were treated on scene for heat exhaustion and transported to local hospitals. They are expected to be treated and released from the hospitals sometime today.

Coast Guard officials and Tampa Fire Investigators state the fire was caused by a mechanical failure of the conveyor belt system. Losses will top 1 million to repair the conveyor belt arm. Fortunately the ship, which was valued at more than 50 million dollars, was saved.

Today Tampa Fire Rescue had on duty 143 personnel in stations throughout the city. During the four hour firefight at least 100 of those personnel were on scene either helping with the battle or caring for the firefighters. TFR responded to this 5 alarm fire with 14 fire engines, 6 rescue cars, 3 ladder trucks, 2 fire boats, a hazardous materials team and foam trucks. Crews responded from fire stations from Port Tampa (south of Gandy), through Downtown and as far away as Tampa Palms.