Deadly Fire on NJ Ship Will Continue to Burn for Days
By Jessica Schladebeck
Source New York Daily News
A massive blaze sparked aboard a cargo ship docked in Newark, which has already claimed the lives of two New Jersey firefighters, will likely continue to burn for several more days.
The fire on the Grande Costa d’Avorio continued to rage on Friday, marking the third straight day the large cargo ship has been aflame. The blaze initially broke out on the barge’s 10th deck Wednesday night as crew members finished loading more than 1,200 new and used vehicles bound for West Africa.
“Members made an attempt to extinguish the fire but got pushed back by the intense heat,” Newark Fire Chief Rufus Jackson said. “Two firefighters were lost while conducting this action of backing out of the structure.”
Augusto Acabou, 45, and Wayne Brooks, 49, of the Newark Fire Department were identified as the officers who were killed by the fire. Acabou was a nine-year veteran of the department while Brooks had served for nearly 17 years.
Five other firefighters — three from Newark and two from Elizabeth — were hurt in the blaze.
Officials on Friday said it’s not clear when exactly the fire would be fully out, noting that the firefighting efforts are being hampered by onboard vehicles’ exploding gas tanks, which are quite literally fueling the flames.
Jackson added that while the Newark first responders have trained on ships before, they’ve never confronted flames on this specific kind of cargo vessel.
“This was definitely a unique fire for us,” he said.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Friday told WABC that the blaze spread significantly overnight, traveling down two floors of the ship and extending roughly 300 feet forward.
He added that “multiple firefighters on the ship itself” are “privately contracted by the ship’s owner and have specialized training in marine firefighting.”
With News Wire Services
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