(CNN) — Two Newark firefighters died and six were injured late Wednesday as they battled a blaze on a massive cargo ship carrying vehicles in the port of Newark, New Jersey, officials said.
Firefighters responded to a call of multiple vehicles on fire on a roll-on/roll-off cargo ship named Grande Costa D’Avorio around 9:25 p.m. Wednesday, the US Coast Guard said in a statement.
Firefighters boarded the ship and went to the 10th or 11th floor to extinguish the flames. Two members then made mayday calls reporting they were lost within the fire, Newark Fire Chief Rufus Jackson said Thursday. “Members made an attempt to extinguish the fire but got pushed back by the intense heat. Two firefighters were lost while conducting this action of backing out of the structure,” Jackson said overnight.
The firefighters were identified by authorities as Augusto Acabou, 45, and Wayne Brooks Jr., 49. In addition, three Newark firefighters and two firefighters from other departments suffered burns, heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation. A sixth firefighter was also injured, authorities said late Thursday. That person’s injuries were not specified.
The US Coast Guard – along with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Newark Fire Department, and Gallagher Marine Systems, the representative for the ship operator – are still working to put out the flames and officials are monitoring air quality, according to a joint press release Thursday.
“Currently, firefighting crews are working to extinguish the fire, both from the pier, and from waterside,” reads the press release. “Crews are working to gain access to the upper decks of the vessel, which is believed to be the primary source of the ongoing fire.”
The vessel was completing cargo operations of loading automobiles when the fire started, according to the Coast Guard. The crew on the vessel activated on-board fire suppression procedures as local firefighters were alerted, the release said.
Incidents in which multiple firefighters die are relatively rare. In 2022, there were six incidents with multiple fatalities, including the deaths of three firefighters in Baltimore in January 2022 when a blazing building partially collapsed.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy issued a statement grieving the deaths.
“Our hearts are heavy today as we mourn the loss of two Newark firefighters, who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. Tammy and I extend our deepest condolences to their families and loved ones, and we pray that those injured have a full and speedy recovery,” he said. “This tragedy is a painful reminder of the dangers our firefighters face and their remarkable courage.”
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka praised the bravery of the firefighters and reflected on what he saw overnight.
“All night and this morning, I keep having the images of two firefighters being lowered down from a pulley from a ship that had to be at least 150 feet or so high,” he said.
“Firefighters lined up on both sides as their fallen brother is taken into the hospital. That image will forever be stamped in my mind of how dangerous this job is and how precarious things can be for the men and women of the fire service as they do their best to save people’s lives and property.”
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey responded to the scene of the fire Wednesday around 9:38 p.m. ET along with other local mutual aid partners, an agency spokesperson told CNN.
The Grande Costa D’Avorio is nearly 700 feet long, was built in 2011 and sails under the flag of Italy, according to online records. The massive vessel was carrying about 5,000 vehicles at the time of the fire, Baraka said.
“It’s a very huge structure that these guys had to breach and, in the process, we had two calls for two maydays,” he said.
Fighting a fire on a ship is different from fighting a land-based fire, Jackson said. The department trained at some point in the past on how to fight fires aboard a vessel with living quarters, but not on a cargo ship full of vehicles, the fire chief added.
“Shipboard firefighting is a unique skill, and this is not a common fire for the city of Newark and Newark firefighters,” he said. “Although this is a difficult fire, a different type of fire, they’re still willing to put themselves on the line for others.”
