HMCS Athabaskan fire 'minor,' says navy

The Royal Canadian Navy is downplaying an engine room fire on board HMCS Athabaskan earlier this week.

The ship was in training exercises off Halifax preparing for a deployment.

"We are calling it minor," says Capt. Cameron Hillier.

Fire was detected in a port engine enclosure at 10:30 p.m. Sept. 1 and put out.

The navy says insulating material known as lagging caught fire and not the engine itself.

The 43-year-old vessel briefly returned to port the next day before returning to sea.

"No personnel were injured," said Hillier.

Hillier said the fire was not related to engine problems earlier this summer that forced HMCS Athabaskan, the flagship vessel in the Royal Canadian Navy's East Coast fleet, to be called back to Halifax from deployment.

The destroyer needed major repairs to the propulsion system.

Hillier said the fire will have no impact on the planned deployment of HMCS Athabaskan and other ships from Halifax, later this month.