OT: 2 Newark Firefighters Killed Battling Blaze on Cargo Vessel

[RU4Real]

Augusto Acabou, 45, and Wayne Brooks Jr., 49, were killed after they were trapped in a fire that broke out about 9:25 p.m. aboard the Grande Costa D’avorio, a cargo ship carrying vehicles that was docked at the port.

The vessel had just finished loading approximately 1200 cars and an unreported number of shipping containers, bound for West Africa. Fire broke out initially on Deck 10 and spread to Decks 11 & 12. Acabou and Brooks, both veteran firefighters, were trapped when the blaze underwent rapid and uncontrolled spread.

In addition, several other firefighters were treated for injuries at local hospitals.

A very sad day for Newark and for the entire first responder community.

 

[RUPete]

That was horrible. Sometimes you don't consider all of the areas FF are responsible for in a city like Newark until something like this happens.

 

[RU205]

Very sad day.

 

[BigLou]

I have 6 relatives and multiple friends who are mostly retired NFD. This is a great loss for the City and the fire fighting community. RIP.

 

[e5fdny]

God Bless them.

Shipboard fires are very scary. Underway or in port. Doesn’t matter.

The training I received at SUNY Maritime makes you realize afterwards you never want to go to one.

 

[cicero grimes]

Many friends who are firemen. Takes a lot of courage to do what they do. God rest the souls of these men.

 

[Knight Shift]

God Bless them.

Shipboard fires are very scary. Underway or in port. Doesn’t matter.

The training I received at SUNY Maritime makes you realize afterwards you never want to go to one.

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Shipboard fire and wildfires (mostly out in the Southwest and West) are indeed scary. June 30 was the 10 year anniversary of the loss of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, the largest loss of firefighters in an incident since 9/11/2001. Rewatched the movie Only the Brave this past weekend, which was very well done.

 

[e5fdny]

Shipboard fire and wildfires (mostly out in the Southwest and West) are indeed scary. June 30 was the 10 year anniversary of the loss of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, the largest loss of firefighters in an incident since 9/11/2001. Rewatched the movie Only the Brave this past weekend, which was very well done.

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When they were planning the funeral(s) they contacted our Ceremonial Unit on how to do a big one like that.

Because we have the practice. ☹️

 

[iReC89]

Drove down 95 late last night and didn’t notice any activity in the dark. Very sad.

 

[RU4Real]

When they were planning the funeral(s) they contacted our Ceremonial Unit on how to do a big one like that.

Because we have the practice. ☹️

During the wave of funerals post-9/11 I noticed that when we went out to lunch in midtown we would run into firefighters from all over the country who had come into town to attend.

I went to Barb Kaczynski (who was CFO of the NFL at the time) and got permission to pay their checks whenever we encountered them. Most of those guys traveled on their own dime.

 

[e5fdny]

During the wave of funerals post-9/11 I noticed that when we went out to lunch in midtown we would run into firefighters from all over the country who had come into town to attend.

I went to Barb Kaczynski (who was CFO of the NFL at the time) and got permission to pay their checks whenever we encountered them. Most of those guys traveled on their own dime.

Since there were so many going on at the same time the City asked regular citizens to show up too. My Brother, who lives on the UWS, went to a lot of funerals on his own.

 

[RUfromSoCal?]

 

[mikeinsec127]

In 2017 I completed a 26 year career in local law enforcement in NJ. I retired and went to the Port Authority as a civilian employee, mainly doing emergency management. I spent 15 hours at the fire scene today. That ship is still on fire and will probably continue to burn through the night. Ship board fires are among the most difficult to put out. This ship is particularly difficult because it is a combination open container ship and enclosed car carrier (referred to as a 'RORO' for roll on roll off). The people working to put this fire out are among the best and bravest there are. They are doing everything they can to win this battle. Unfortunately, we lost two good ones today. When the job is over, the responder community will mourn their loss, but we need to complete the job first.

 

[JRZEER]

In 2017 I completed a 26 year career in local law enforcement in NJ. I retired and went to the Port Authority as a civilian employee, mainly doing emergency management. I spent 15 hours at the fire scene today. That ship is still on fire and will probably continue to burn through the night. Ship board fires are among the most difficult to put out. This ship is particularly difficult because it is a combination open container ship and enclosed car carrier (referred to as a 'RORO' for roll on roll off). The people working to put this fire out are among the best and bravest there are. They are doing everything they can to win this battle. Unfortunately, we lost two good ones today. When the job is over, the responder community will mourn their loss, but we need to complete the job first.

Thats terrible. Are those cars EV’s and the batteries are burning this long?

 

[gmay8]

Thats terrible. Are those cars EV’s and the batteries are burning this long?

Rumor from the a law enforcement friend is that it was full of EVs and the battery/batteries caught fire. That’s the reason the media has barely mentioned it. Can’t give EVs a bad name.

 

[Knight Shift]

Rumor from the a law enforcement friend is that it was full of EVs and the battery/batteries caught fire. That’s the reason the media has barely mentioned it. Can’t give EVs a bad name.

Rumors from a law enforcement friend about a fire? Maybe he should stay in his lane.

Has been a rampant problem with Grimaldi since 2019, before EVs were mass produced. For that matter, not even sure EVs are being shipped in container ships.

"Grimaldi Group, the operator of the ship burning at Port Newark, says none of the cars onboard are electric, but some of them are used.

"A lot of these are used vehicles that probably can't meet requirements on U.S. roads anymore, so these vehicles may not have been the most safe vehicles to begin with," Mercogliano said."

"CBS New York discovered four other fires on Grimaldi Group ships over the last five years, including one on a car carrier in May of 2019 and one in March of 2019, when the Grande America caught fire then sunk off the coast of France.


Another fire in November of 2019 on a Grimaldi Group cargo ship triggered a safety report from the Maltese government, which concluded the fire was "most likely caused by fuel spilling accidentally onto a hot surface." "

Industry experts say fires on large shipping vessels are on the rise

The global insurance company Allianz says there were 200 fires reported on large shipping vessels in 2022 alone, the highest total in a decade.

www.cbsnews.com

At least 4 other fires reported on ships operated by Grimaldi Group over past few years

The Grimaldi Group operates the ship that caught fire Wednesday, leading to the deaths of two Newark firefighters.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[mikeinsec127]

Thats terrible. Are those cars EV’s and the batteries are burning this long?

There were no electric vehicles on the ship. They were offloaded in Baltimore. It was being loaded with used cars for export. The ship is still burning, so no on-scene investigation into the cause of the fire can take place. Knowing there were no EVs, allowed for fire crews to board the ship, but the internal temperature is so hot they still can't get into the decks where the fire is.

 

[RU205]

Rumor from the a law enforcement friend is that it was full of EVs and the battery/batteries caught fire. That’s the reason the media has barely mentioned it. Can’t give EVs a bad name.

Why would you post fake info on this thread? Was it to make a political point ? Maybe the media has not mentioned it yet because its not true or hasn’t been confirmed yet.

 

[S.W.A.I.N]

Rumor from the a law enforcement friend is that it was full of EVs and the battery/batteries caught fire. That’s the reason the media has barely mentioned it. Can’t give EVs a bad name.

RIP to the bravest.

I’m glad your LEO friend works off rumors not facts. Tragedy is the best time to push your political agenda.

 

[mdk01]

Rumors from a law enforcement friend about a fire? Maybe he should stay in his lane.

Has been a rampant problem with Grimaldi since 2019, before EVs were mass produced. For that matter, not even sure EVs are being shipped in container ships.

"Grimaldi Group, the operator of the ship burning at Port Newark, says none of the cars onboard are electric, but some of them are used.

"A lot of these are used vehicles that probably can't meet requirements on U.S. roads anymore, so these vehicles may not have been the most safe vehicles to begin with," Mercogliano said."

"CBS New York discovered four other fires on Grimaldi Group ships over the last five years, including one on a car carrier in May of 2019 and one in March of 2019, when the Grande America caught fire then sunk off the coast of France.


Another fire in November of 2019 on a Grimaldi Group cargo ship triggered a safety report from the Maltese government, which concluded the fire was "most likely caused by fuel spilling accidentally onto a hot surface." "

Industry experts say fires on large shipping vessels are on the rise

The global insurance company Allianz says there were 200 fires reported on large shipping vessels in 2022 alone, the highest total in a decade.

www.cbsnews.com

At least 4 other fires reported on ships operated by Grimaldi Group over past few years

The Grimaldi Group operates the ship that caught fire Wednesday, leading to the deaths of two Newark firefighters.

www.cbsnews.com

Report last night on local news that one of the problems is the fuel in some of the cars. Doesn't sound like an EV to me.

 

[tico brown]

Why would you post fake info on this thread? Was it to make a political point ? Maybe the media has not mentioned it yet because its not true or hasn’t been confirmed yet.

Some people can’t help themselves

 

[koleszar]

In 2017 I completed a 26 year career in local law enforcement in NJ. I retired and went to the Port Authority as a civilian employee, mainly doing emergency management. I spent 15 hours at the fire scene today. That ship is still on fire and will probably continue to burn through the night. Ship board fires are among the most difficult to put out. This ship is particularly difficult because it is a combination open container ship and enclosed car carrier (referred to as a 'RORO' for roll on roll off). The people working to put this fire out are among the best and bravest there are. They are doing everything they can to win this battle. Unfortunately, we lost two good ones today. When the job is over, the responder community will mourn their loss, but we need to complete the job first.

Do they have a foam suppression system at the dock? I only ask because from videos it looked like the only available method to the fire fighters to put out the fire was using water. Don't know how well that's going to work on this type of fire. When my brother worked for Hess refinery in St. Croix everyone trained to fight fires. They only used foam, he actually drove a tank converted into a fire fighting vehicle. He loved every second of it.

 

[RU4Real]

Rumor from the a law enforcement friend is that it was full of EVs and the battery/batteries caught fire. That’s the reason the media has barely mentioned it. Can’t give EVs a bad name.

WTF is wrong with you?

First, this isn't a "rumor from a law enforcement friend", unless he's an idiot.

Second, there's zero reason to post this without some substantiation, unless you're an idiot.

Third, there were no EVs on the ship. The cars are all old, used cars for export to Africa. There's undoubtedly gasoline in every one of their tanks.

Fourth, your last sentence proves my assertion that you are, in fact, an idiot.

Do us all a favor. Take the day off. Go to the beach. Stand at the water's edge and look out upon the horizon. Then start walking. Don't stop. Just keep heading east.

The Universe will thank you.

 

[OntheBanks]

Why would you post fake info on this thread? Was it to make a political point ? Maybe the media has not mentioned it yet because its not true or hasn’t been confirmed yet.

I heard various news reports that stated that there were no EV's on the ship.

 

[RU#1fan]

Rumor from the a law enforcement friend is that it was full of EVs and the battery/batteries caught fire. That’s the reason the media has barely mentioned it. Can’t give EVs a bad name.

Take your BS wacko agenda elsewhere. Douche

 

[RuSnp]

WTF is wrong with you?

First, this isn't a "rumor from a law enforcement friend", unless he's an idiot.

Second, there's zero reason to post this without some substantiation, unless you're an idiot.

Third, there were no EVs on the ship. The cars are all old, used cars for export to Africa. There's undoubtedly gasoline in every one of their tanks.

Fourth, your last sentence proves my assertion that you are, in fact, an idiot.

Do us all a favor. Take the day off. Go to the beach. Stand at the water's edge and look out upon the horizon. Then start walking. Don't stop. Just keep heading east.

The Universe will thank you.

The original post is a microcosm of what's not great with society today. No attribution. No sourcing. But just enough intrigue to make people who don't know anything about the subject wonder if they're missing something. And the overall general problem - by definition - is hard things are hard. So only a minority actually understand enough to identify and dispel the rumors. And a majority of that minority are too busy doing actual worthwhile things to shoot down every dumb social media viral thing out there.

 

[Knight Shift]

The original post is a microcosm of what's not great with society today. No attribution. No sourcing. But just enough intrigue to make people who don't know anything about the subject wonder if they're missing something. And the overall general problem - by definition - is hard things are hard. So only a minority actually understand enough to identify and dispel the rumors. And a majority of that minority are too busy doing actual worthwhile things to shoot down every dumb social media viral thing out there.

The poster who posted that rumor is a solid poster, and unless I missed posts, I don't recall him posting political nonsense. Giving the benefit of the doubt, he may have been relaying information he thought was from a reliable source.

But at a fire scene of the magnitude of the shipboard fire, your average law enforcement officer would not likely have details on the source of the fire. The best source would be one of the fire command staff.

 

[PSU_Nut]

Rumor from the a law enforcement friend is that it was full of EVs and the battery/batteries caught fire. That’s the reason the media has barely mentioned it. Can’t give EVs a bad name.

Why are people so afraid of EV that they make stuff up. It pretty pathetic that people make it up and the minions eat it up gleefully.

 

[tom1944]

The poster who posted that rumor is a solid poster, and unless I missed posts, I don't recall him posting political nonsense. Giving the benefit of the doubt, he may have been relaying information he thought was from a reliable source.

But at a fire scene of the magnitude of the shipboard fire, your average law enforcement officer would not likely have details on the source of the fire. The best source would be one of the fire command staff.

The end of his post politicized it and showed his agenda

He wrote that’s the reason the media has barely mentioned it followed up by can’t give EVs a bad name

 

[Knight Shift]

The end of his post politicized it and showed his agenda

He wrote that’s the reason the media has barely mentioned it followed up by can’t give EVs a bad name

OK. I've posted plenty of stuff here in a sleep deprived state that I later look at and say to myself, "That was me?"

Back to the topic at hand, while I've been a volunteer firefighter for 39 years, I have never had, and I doubt I will have occasion to fight a shipboard fire.

I had posted that this shipping company has had a number of large fires involving cars. I don't know if it is practical, but perhaps they should look into draining the fuel tanks of the vehicles before they are shipped? Also, someone had mentioned foam. Wonder if these ships are required to have an onboard foam system, as extremely large quantities of foam are needed for a large fire.

 

[RU4Real]

OK. I've posted plenty of stuff here in a sleep deprived state that I later look at and say to myself, "That was me?"

Back to the topic at hand, while I've been a volunteer firefighter for 39 years, I have never had, and I doubt I will have occasion to fight a shipboard fire.

I had posted that this shipping company has had a number of large fires involving cars. I don't know if it is practical, but perhaps they should look into draining the fuel tanks of the vehicles before they are shipped? Also, someone had mentioned foam. Wonder if these ships are required to have an onboard foam system, as extremely large quantities of foam are needed for a large fire.

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The problem with draining the fuel tanks is they need to get the vehicles on and off the ship. There's no other way to do it but "under their own power", same as with brand new cars.

No, there is no foam suppression requirement for ships. TBH I'm not even sure they're required to have sprinkler systems in the cargo holds. The ages-old method of fighting shipboard fires is with hoses and crewmen and / or sealing off the compartment and letting it just starve (depending on the compartment and the cargo).

It's been long understood that sea-going vessels operate on the edge of safety. There's always some country willing to register the vessels under a flag that has very relaxed safety requirements.

 

[Knight Shift]

The problem with draining the fuel tanks is they need to get the vehicles on and off the ship. There's no other way to do it but "under their own power", same as with brand new cars.

No, there is no foam suppression requirement for ships. TBH I'm not even sure they're required to have sprinkler systems in the cargo holds. The ages-old method of fighting shipboard fires is with hoses and crewmen and / or sealing off the compartment and letting it just starve (depending on the compartment and the cargo).

It's been long understood that sea-going vessels operate on the edge of safety. There's always some country willing to register the vessels under a flag that has very relaxed safety requirements.

You mentioned the sealing off the compartment. Do automobile-carrying ships have the ability to seal each compartment level of the ship? As you know, there are three ways to fight a fire: (1) lower the temperature of the fuel, which in grossly oversimplified terms involves putting enough water on the fire overcome the BTUs of the fire--in the case of a large quantity of vehicles burning on a ship is extremely difficult; (2) deny the fire oxygen by sealing off the compartment or applying a blanket of foam on the burning fuel; (3) remove the fuel or let the fuel burn itself out.

 

[RU4Real]

You mentioned the sealing off the compartment. Do automobile-carrying ships have the ability to seal each compartment level of the ship? As you know, there are three ways to fight a fire: (1) lower the temperature of the fuel, which in grossly oversimplified terms involves putting enough water on the fire overcome the BTUs of the fire--in the case of a large quantity of vehicles burning on a ship is extremely difficult; (2) deny the fire oxygen by sealing off the compartment or applying a blanket of foam on the burning fuel; (3) remove the fuel or let the fuel burn itself out.

It's a good question. I've never been on a ro-ro, but I'm led to believe that the interior looks pretty much just like a parking deck. That would suggest that sealing off any part of it is not an option.

In a very general sense, very large cargo & container ships these days are built to be disposable. All the design and engineering goes into keeping them safe and stable under normal operating conditions but if something untoward or unforeseen happens, they're doomed to the deep.

This particular vessel is now full of holes that the fire crews have been punching through the hull to let the water out so that it doesn't capsize. Apparently all the bilge drains are clogged. 🙄

 

[Knight Shift]

It's a good question. I've never been on a ro-ro, but I'm led to believe that the interior looks pretty much just like a parking deck. That would suggest that sealing off any part of it is not an option.

In a very general sense, very large cargo & container ships these days are built to be disposable. All the design and engineering goes into keeping them safe and stable under normal operating conditions but if something untoward or unforeseen happens, they're doomed to the deep.

This particular vessel is now full of holes that the fire crews have been punching through the hull to let the water out so that it doesn't capsize. Apparently all the bilge drains are clogged. 🙄

The CEO and the Board of the company should be forced to don scuba gear and unclog the drains. Firefighting is extremely hard work when the weather is tolerable. With the heat and humidity during the span of this fire, it is absolutely brutal work.

 

[e5fdny]

It's been long understood that sea-going vessels operate on the edge of safety. There's always some country willing to register the vessels under a flag that has very relaxed safety requirements.

It’s probably why we don’t see too many of the big ones, cruise or cargo, flying this flag…🇺🇸

 

[RU4Real]

It’s probably why we don’t see too many of the big ones, cruise or cargo, flying this flag…🇺🇸

Spot on. U.S. flagged vessels have significantly greater safety requirements - and insurance requirements - than offshore registries.

All these giant cruise ships that people love so much are all registered in places like Panama and Liberia. The practice is known as "flag of convenience" and exists solely to relieve the registered owners of the obligation to maintain seaworthiness and insurance coverage that would be required under a U.S. flag.

 

[e5fdny]

For those following along, from the news video and coverage, hopefully you all got to see this guy in action…

Fire Fighter II - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

This one, Firefighter II (Marine Company 9 - Staten Island) and the other one just like it, the 343 (Marine Company 1 - Manhattan) are for the lack of a better description truly bad ass.

It’s like having a water based Battlestar Galactica or Star Destroyer at your disposal.

My late Dad used to tell me stories about the power of the old boats when he had to special call them for piers fires in Jersey City in the late 70s and early 80s.

And I saw the pumping capabilities of an old one, the retired (at the time) John J. Harvey, up close and personal on 9/11.

 

[gmay8]

The poster who posted that rumor is a solid poster, and unless I missed posts, I don't recall him posting political nonsense. Giving the benefit of the doubt, he may have been relaying information he thought was from a reliable source.

But at a fire scene of the magnitude of the shipboard fire, your average law enforcement officer would not likely have details on the source of the fire. The best source would be one of the fire command staff.

Thanks Knight Shift, And sorry for the post and run. Haven’t checked back and didn’t expect that reaction.
My friend is a high ranking FBI agent in the NY office. We were out for a drink and he’s the one who mentioned the EVs and he was the one who said “it’s why the media hasn’t covered it”. Notice I just said “rumor” and not fact. I didn’t verify what he said which was my fault.

Sorry for the fallen fire fighters, awful tragedy regardless of the cause of the fire.

 

[HPNJRUfan]

My late Dad used to tell me stories about the power of the old boats when he had to special call them for piers fires in Jersey City in the late 70s and early 80s.

Just found this interesting article from 1974: https://www.nytimes.com/1974/12/08/...-payments-offered.html?searchResultPosition=1

And check out this recommendation, something that seems to only now be somewhat considered 50 years later:
"According to a New York Fire Department spokesman, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey should establish a bistate or tristate firefighting agency. “The New York Fire Department spends a great deal of time fighting New Jersey shore fires,” he said."

 

[RU4Real]

I wonder if they called for The Neptune...