Lack of training at the Newark Fire Station and familiarity with marine firefighters during the fatal cargo ship fire at the largest port on the East Coast in July 2023 have become a “leadership failure.”
The board met publicly in Washington to present the findings of the Inferno in the Grande Costa Daborio in Italy.
In addition to choosing the Newark fire station for criticism, the board also found that a fire was lit when the cargo loader pushed the vehicle into place using a jeep where such work was not designed. We also found that carbon dioxide fire extinguishing systems are ineffective as the garage doors need to be closed to work properly and are only closed from the inside.
“I hope the Newark Fire Department leadership is listening. This is not just a communication failure. This was a leadership failure. This was that.”
Board investigators said the department’s chief “put firefighters at unnecessary risks,” and said first responders were not well versed in the Marines’ fire service and that the department had no fire plans for the ship.
“The staff feels that the Newark Fire Division feels that the corresponding land firefighters should not enter the space,” investigator Burt Burnham said Tuesday.
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The need for more training was his main takeaway from the accident, Burnham said.
“When dealing with a fire on a marine ship, you have to be properly trained,” he said. “In this particular example, if that were the case, they should never have gone inside.”
Messages seeking comment remained in the Newark Fire Division and Port America, which oversees cargo operations at the port.
The flames were lit as the ship was loaded with about 920 predominantly used vehicles heading towards West Africa. According to the board, they used Jeep Wranglers to push non-moving vehicles into the ship when workers heard “cranking noise,” and workers heard “cranking noise,” and workers heard “cranking noise.” By that time, the Jeep had pushed 37 other vehicles onto the ship, investigators said.
Federal regulations require that vehicles used to push other vehicles into the ship meet the standards of such work. Jeep had not met its occupational safety and health management standards and was nervous beyond its capabilities, board investigators said.
“Maybe it was a ready-to-use vehicle,” one investigator said Tuesday. “Maybe they overlooked the OSHA requirement that it wasn’t available that way. We just speculate.”
The fire began on deck 10 of a 12-deck ship, investigators said, and although the ship’s crew activates the carbon dioxide suppression system, it must operate effectively to close the doors of the ship’s external garage. According to the board’s presentation, the doors on the deck at the top were not able to close except inside the ship, so they remained open.
The Newark firefighters responded quickly – and lost inside the ship, the committee said dark smoke swirling through the sky.
“We can’t find our way,” the board said a firefighter broadcast it. “We are lost.”
Newark firefighters August “Aussie” Akabou and Wayne “Bear” Brooks Jr. were killed. Firefighters eventually blow up the ship’s cannons for several days to extinguish the flames.
Board members noted that relatives of the fallen firefighters attended the meeting and expressed their sadness towards them.
The Port Authorities of New York and New Jersey, which operate the ports of Newark, rely on local fire departments to assist with the fire, as they do not have their own fire agencies.
Authorities previously refused to answer whether firefighters should have done harm to extinguish the flames when the ship’s 28 crew members appeared to be in danger, safe and considered lives. Fritz Frezi, then director of Newark’s public safety, said the city and the Port Authority were constantly having conversations about training. He did not provide details.
By Mike Catalini
