After the fire of May 6, 1937, the exposed aluminum framework of LZ 129 Hindenburg remained. The complete burning of the hydrogen-filled airship lasted less than a minute; 36 people perished. In the hours following the disaster, representatives of authorities, investigators, and military personnel inspected the wreckage on the grounds of Naval Air Station Lakehurst. The photographs of the destroyed skeleton became a lasting document of the end of commercial rigid airship service.