WASHINGTON (VINnews) — A fire aboard the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford last week left more than 600 sailors without their bunks, forcing them to sleep on floors and tables while the blaze raged for over 30 hours, according to officials and sailors cited by The New York Times. The fire, which began in a laundry vent, caused smoke inhalation for dozens of crew members, though only two required treatment for non-life-threatening injuries.

The Ford, the Navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, is carrying roughly 4,500 sailors and pilots on its 10th month of deployment. Crew members have been told the mission may be extended into May, meaning the ship could remain at sea for nearly a year, double the length of a typical carrier deployment. If the ship stays deployed past mid-April, it would break the post-Vietnam War record of 294 days set by the USS Abraham Lincoln in 2020.

The fire comes amid ongoing maintenance challenges aboard the Ford. The ship’s 650 toilets have repeatedly malfunctioned due to design and capacity issues, and a planned refit at Newport News Naval Shipyard in Virginia has been postponed. Despite these problems, Pentagon officials say the Ford remains fully operational and is conducting flight operations around the clock.

Navy experts note that extended deployments strain both the ship and crew. “Ships get tired too, and they get beat up over the course of long deployments,” said Rear Adm. John F. Kirby, a retired naval officer and former Pentagon press secretary. “You can’t run a ship that long and that hard and expect her and her crew to perform at peak capacity.”

The Pentagon plans to relieve the Ford with the USS George H.W. Bush, which is preparing to deploy to the Middle East. Sailors on board have endured months of demanding operations, including prior missions in the Caribbean supporting U.S. pressure on Venezuela and ongoing actions related to U.S.-Israeli operations in the Middle East.