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At 7 A.M. on July 20, 1898 the USS Iowa was patrolling near Cuba in support of American forces engaged in the Spanish- American War, when it was rocked by the explosion of a manhole gasket in one of the boilers of fire-room Number 2. The explosion filled the compartment with live steam, and water boiling at 220 degrees covered the floor, seriously injuring one man. In his nearby compartment, Fireman First Class Robert Penn was aroused by the explosion, and rushed into the steam filled room and pulled the injured man to safety. That accomplished, he ignored the continuing danger to return and try to contain the effects of the explosion to prevent further damage to his ship. With several inches of boiling water covering the floor, Penn fashioned a rickety bridge by throwing a plank across some ash buckets held in place by Coppersmith Philip Keefer and another man. He then traversed this unstable bridge over the boiling waters to carry the remaining two fires from the boiler room.
(Others Involved in this action: Philip Keefer)
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