Emergency crews commended for nuclear sub response | News

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) - New Hampshire's U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Kelly Ayotte have honored the first responders who helped contain the fire that badly damaged a submarine at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in May.

Shaheen and Ayotte presented the Senate resolution they and other New England senators sponsored to commend the first responders at a ceremony Monday at Prescott Park in Portsmouth.

Last week, the Navy convened a special panel to investigate the May 23 fire that damaged the USS Miami while it was in dry dock for an overhaul at the shipyard in Kittery, Maine. The investigation was ordered by U.S. Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, Va.

Early estimates put the fire damage at $400 million. It damaged the torpedo room, crew quarters, and command and control areas.