Deadly Cargo Ship Blaze Killed 2 NJ Firefighters, Coast Guard Releases New Report

NEWARK, NJ — The U.S. Coast Guard has released a long-awaited investigative report into a cargo ship fire that killed two firefighters in Newark.

The fire aboard the Grande Costa D’Avorio – an Italian-flagged cargo ship – broke out at Port Newark in July 2023 and burned for several days. Two firefighters died after they were trapped inside the vessel: Augusto Acabou, 45, and Wayne Brooks Jr., 49. Five other firefighters were injured in the blaze, which caused an estimated $23 million in damage to the vessel.

Videos show the intensity of the flames and the violent aftermath (watch surveillance footage online here and here).

The ship’s owner, the Grimaldi Group, told The New York Times that the vessel carried more than 1,200 new and used vehicles and 157 containers, but there was no hazardous cargo on the ship. It was not spilling fuel or in danger of sinking, the company added.

According to federal court filings, the blaze began after a 16-year-old Jeep Wrangler that was being used to push an inoperable Toyota Venza erupted in flames, setting fire to hundreds of junked vehicles nearby.

The Newark Fire Department hadn’t conducted marine firefighting training in nearly a decade prior to the fatal blaze, NJ Advance Media reported.

>> READ MORE: Videos Show Fatal Ship Fire At Port Newark

Last week, the Coast Guard announced that a report of investigation into the fire has been released. View the full report online here.

Here’s the chain of events led to the deaths of two firefighters, investigators found:

JEEP STARTS LEAKING – “The initiating event for this casualty occurred when the Jeep experienced a mechanical failure, likely an overheat of the transmission, causing it to expel a flammable fluid, likely transmission fluid.”

FLUID IGNITES – “Subsequently, the flammable fluid contacted hot surfaces within the engine compartment causing a fire. The fire quickly spread to nearby vehicles and upwards to vehicles located on deck 11.”

FIRE SPREADS – “This was followed by the inability to close watertight door 12 (WTD-12), which prevented fully sealing low-pressure carbon dioxide (CO2) fire protection zone C. It also acted as a chimney promoting fire spread through deck 11.”

FIRE REFLASHES – “Regardless, the CO2 was initially effective at suppressing the fire. Based on computer modeling, this effectiveness likely continued for at least 40 minutes. Before the space could cool, the discharged CO2 on deck 11 and then 10 eventually dissipated below effective levels due to the open WTD-12, and additional oxygen was reintroduced into the space by the [Newark] firefighters who opened fire boundary doors, causing the fire to reflash.”

FIREFIGHTERS KILLED – “Upon arrival, and despite CO2 having been released into [the] fire protection zone, Newark Fire Department personnel entered decks 10 and 11 to investigate the fire and suppress as necessary. As a result, two firefighters became disoriented and lost in the space for a prolonged period. They both subsequently ran out of SCBA-supplied air and succumbed to inhalation of carbon monoxide.”

In addition to the deaths of Augusto Acabou and Wayne Brooks Jr., the fire also caused injuries to two other Newark firefighters, two Elizabeth firefighters and two University EMS crew members. Their non-life-threatening injuries included heat exhaustion, fatigue and smoke inhalation. One firefighter sustained a head injury after falling in a ladderwell, and another sustained burns to his feet after his boots failed.

A transcript of the Newark Fire Department's radio transmissions during the incident paints a chilling picture of the unsuccessful effort to rescue the trapped firefighters in time (view it online here).

“We cannot find out way out … we are lost!” one firefighter exclaims.

According to the investigative report, the lack of shipboard planning and training for Newark firefighters was a major factor behind the loss of life that took place aboard the Grande Costa D’Avorio.

Other contributing factors allegedly included:

• “Improper use of the Jeep routinely exceeding designed and stated operating parameters”
• “Ineffective initial firefighting efforts by vessel crew and Lasher 1, including specifically, the failure to use available portable foam”
• “Failure to close WTD-12 once no longer needed for cargo operations”
• “Challenged radio functionality that prevented clear communication between firefighters inside the vessel, dispatch repeaters, and the incident commander.”
• “Failure of [one of the deceased firefighters] to carry his radio during the response, the presence of which may have allowed him to transmit his own mayday and enable search efforts”
• “Failure to engrain the use of SCBA PASS alarms in the event of a mayday through training. Neither [of the deceased firefighters] manually sounded their PASS alarm during the initial mayday period, which likely delayed the search and recovery.”
• “Use of lower capacity (30-minute rated) SCBA bottles by the Newark Fire Department in a shipboard environment. Larger capacity air bottles could have provided [the deceased firefighters] longer survivability in the hazardous environment on deck 10 and enabled more duration for search crews.”
• “Unfamiliarity with the vessel’s fire control plan and resulting lack of knowledge about the vessel layout for Newark Fire Department personnel entering deck 10”

The Coast Guard issued five safety and six administrative recommendations, five findings of concern, and one safety alert in connection with the fire.

There was no evidence indicating acts of “misconduct, incompetence, negligence, unskillfulness, or willful violation of law” by members of the Coast Guard or other federal, state or local agencies that contributed to the casualties, authorities said.

There was also no evidence to support referral of a potential federal criminal violation, the report said.

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