NTSB finds 'failure' in training before deadly Newark cargo ship fire

The Newark fire department's lack of training and familiarity with marine firefighting during a deadly cargo ship fire at the East Coast's largest port in July 2023 amounted to a ''failure of leadership,'' the head of the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday.

The board met publicly in Washington to unveil its findings about the inferno inside the Italian-flagged Grande Costa D'Avorio, which smoldered for nearly a week and resulted in the deaths of two Newark firefighters.

In addition to singling out Newark's fire department for criticism, the board also found that the fire ignited when cargo loaders used a Jeep that wasn't designed for such work to push vehicles into position. It also found that a carbon dioxide fire suppression system was ineffective because a large hydraulic door had to be closed for it to operate correctly, and could only be shut from inside, where the fire was raging in cramped conditions, with vehicles parked as narrowly as 4 inches (10 centimeters) apart.

''I hope that Newark fire department leadership is listening. This isn't just a failure of communication. This was a failure of leadership. That's what this was,'' NTSB chairperson Jennifer Homendy said.

Board investigators said the department's chiefs ''exposed firefighters to unnecessary risk," first responders were not familiar enough with marine firefighting and the department lacked a fire control plan for the ship.

''Staff feels that Newark Fire Division, responding land-based firefighters should not have gone into the space,'' investigator Bart Barnum said Tuesday.

The need for more training, Barnum said, was his main takeaway from the accident.

In a statement, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda praised the bravery of the firefighters. They also said that every firefighter not on long-term medical leave — about 540 out of 600 firefighters — was certified in ''Maritime Firefighting Awareness Training.''

''The events that transpired have informed every endeavor of our entire firefighting force,'' Baraka and Miranda added.

A message seeking comment was left with Ports America, the company overseeing cargo operations at the port.

The blaze ignited as the ship was being loaded with about 920 mostly used vehicles destined for West Africa. Port workers were using a Jeep Wrangler to push nonrunning vehicles into the ship when a worker heard ''clunking noises'' and another operator reported seeing ''flaming fireballs dripping'' from the Jeep, according to the board. The Jeep had pushed 37 other vehicles on board by then, investigators said.

Federal rules require that any vehicle used to push other vehicles onto a ship meet standards for such work. The Jeep didn't meet that Occupational Safety and Health Administration standard and was straining beyond its capacity, the board's investigators said.

The fire began on deck 10 of the 12-deck ship, investigators said, and the ship's crew had activated the carbon dioxide suppression system, but it required the ship's exterior doors to be closed to operate effectively. Because the door on the top deck couldn't be closed except from inside the ship, it remained open, according to the board's presentation.

Newark firefighters quickly responded — and got lost inside the vessel, the board said, as dark smoke billowed into the sky.

''We cannot find our way out,'' the board said one firefighter relayed. ''We are lost.''

Newark firefighters Augusto ''Augie'' Acabou and Wayne ''Bear'' Brooks Jr. were killed. Firefighting boats ultimately blasted water cannons at the ship for days to extinguish the blaze.

Board members noted that relatives of the fallen firefighters were present at the meeting and expressed condolences to them.