‘A TRAGEDY’

Two Firefighters Die While Tackling Huge Ship Blaze in Port Newark

An official said firefighters were “pushed back by the intense heat.”

Two Newark firefighters died after becoming trapped while attempting to tackle a blaze on board a cargo ship docked in New Jersey on Wednesday night. Flames erupted on the ship in Port Newark at around 9:30 p.m., with Newark firefighters dispatched to reports that several vehicles on the ships named Grande Coaster Eadoirio were on fire. They located between five and seven cars on fire on the 11th and 12th floors of the ship, according to ABC 7. “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,” Newark Fire Chief Rufus Jackson said. The firefighters, who have not been identified, were later found inside the vessel and pronounced dead. “We lost two firefighters today,” Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said at the scene. “A tragedy for us in the city of Newark and tragic for all firefighters who know what it means to go in a burning structure in a danger that you are going to have to experience when you do so.” Other firefighters were reportedly injured and taken to University Hospital in Newark for treatment.