The Navy said today a fire aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier has left one sailor with minor burns and 23 others with heat stress.

Sailors extinguished the fire several hours after flames were spotted yesterday near the auxiliary boiler room and air conditioning and refrigeration space in the rear of the nuclear powered ship. The Navy says the fire spread through a passageway for cables.

It says the carrier's propulsion plant was not damaged and the fire did not threaten the safety of the ship's nuclear reactor.

The affected sailors were treated on board and returned to duty, said Lt. Cmdr. Charlie Brown, a spokesman for Naval Air Forces in San Diego. None suffered serious injury.

The ship's crew was put on a higher state of alert for about 12 hours as a result of the flames.

The Navy said it was investigating the cause of the fire, which spread through a passageway for cables, and assessing damage to the ship.

The carrier was resupplying the USS Crommelin or being resupplied by the guided missile frigate — it's not clear which — when sailors noticed smoke.

The Norfolk, Va.-based Washington left Valparaiso, Chile, on May 16 for San Diego. Brown said the Navy doesn't disclose specific locations of its ships, but the carrier was continuing to San Diego.

The carrier is expected to participate in multinational naval exercises off Hawai'i this summer.

Later this year, the Washington is due to arrive at its new home port of Yokosuka, Japan, where it will relieve the retiring USS Kitty Hawk.