Fatal fire still burns on cargo ship in New Jersey, raising questions about response capability
A cargo ship burned for a third day Friday at a New Jersey port after a fire that claimed the lives of two firefighters and exposed gaps in the ability of fire crews to respond to emergencies on hulking container ships
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A cargo ship burned for a third day Friday at a New Jersey port after the fire claimed the lives of two firefighters and exposed gaps in the ability of fire crews to respond to emergencies on hulking container ships.
Crews shot jets of water into the Italian-flagged Grande Costa d'Avorio docked in Newark as flames flared periodically from the section of the ship where hundreds of vehicles were loaded onto multiple decks.
The Coast Guard and other officials were set to hold a news conference later Friday to give an update on the situation.
Newark firefighters Augusto “Augie” Acabou and Wayne “Bear” Brooks Jr. died fighting the blaze that broke out Wednesday night on the 10th floor of the ship. The fire quickly reached the 11th and 12th floors as firefighters were forced to retreat in the intense heat. Five other firefighters were injured.
Newark Fire Chief Rufus Jackson said the department had trained on ships before, but not the specific kind of cargo vessel they're confronting now. He described the vessel as unique and unlike passenger-carrying ships the department had previously trained on.
Marine traffic trackers show the ship, which was was built in 2011, had arrived from the Port of Baltimore several days earlier.
Grimaldi Deep Sea said the fire broke out on the ship’s 10th deck as its 28 crew members and local stevedores were completing the loading of more than 1,200 new and used cars, vans and trucks bound for West Africa.
The company’s statement said the crew immediately activated on-board fire suppression procedures and the local firefighting service was alerted, triggering a prompt response that was crucial to containing and controlling the blaze. It also said that no electric cars nor hazardous cargo is on board, no fuel spills have been detected, and the stability of the ship was not been compromised.
The Grimaldi Group statement said the cause of the fire isn’t known, but it will investigate in cooperation with authorities.
The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate but the Coast Guard is taking the lead, said Jennifer Gabris, an NTSB spokeswoman.