WASHINGTON, May 23 (Xinhua) -- A fire broke out aboard U.S. aircraft carrier George Washington on May 22, and one sailor received first-degree burns while 23 others were treated for heat stress, the U.S. Navy confirmed Friday.

    The carrier was off the west coast of South America at the time, Cmdr. Jeff Davis, a Navy spokesman at the Pentagon, told reporters.

    The fire was detected in the vicinity of the ship's aft air conditioning systems, the refrigeration space and the auxiliary boiler room, and occurred while the ship was passing fuel to the U.S. frigate Crommelin.

    It took several hours for the crew to extinguish the fire.

    The cause of the fire is under investigation, and is not at this point expected to affect the ship's schedule.

    The carrier's next stop is San Diego, Calif., before heading to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where it will conduct a crew turnover with the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk next month.