DOZENS of firefighters were out in force last night after a ship damaged in a blaze came into Southampton.

Appliances from Redbridge, Hightown and St Mary’s Fire stations were shore-side at the docks as the car carrier Courage came alongside, around 24 hours after a fire broke out on a deck.

The ship’s crew used a CO2 flooding system to extinguish the flames but it trapped searing heat within the deck, leading to fears the fire might reignite.

As reported by the Daily Echo, a team of five marine response officers were winched aboard the vessel while it anchored off the Isle of Wight yesterday to inspect the deck and help dissipate the heat.

And Southampton firefighters paid tribute to their work and the crew’s quick action .

A spokesman for Redbridge Fire Station said: “We had a response there just in case the fire reignited when it was shore-side and there was a robust plan in place for us to be deployed into the ship if it was required.

“But once it was alongside there were pictures taken with thermal cameras and a lot of information gathering and it showed the temperatures had dropped so luckily we were not required.

“You have to give it to the marine officers and the ship’s crew. If this had been a land fire it would have been a huge incident, but the ship’s crew and captain did a fantastic job.”

Although the extent of the damage is unknown but the fire was described as “severe”.

Courage is owned by American Roll-On Roll-Off Carriers who confirmed the ship’s crew of 24 were all unharmed.

The vessel weighs 52,000 tonnes and had been carrying a mix of new and used commercial vehicles and some vehicles and furniture belonging to US military personnel.

It was bound for Southampton from Bremerhaven in Germany.