Investigation underway after New York City shipyard blast injures 30+ firefighters
Investigators were combing through a New York City shipyard in Mariners Harbor on Staten Island on Saturday after a fire and explosion Friday afternoon killed one civilian and injured more than 30 firefighters and other first responders, officials said.
City officials said authorities had not provided major updates to the incident as of Saturday. Besides investigators, some firefighters were at the site as a precaution, officials said.
Firefighters were called to the shipyard about 3:30 p.m. Friday on reports that there was a fire, heavy smoke and two workers trapped in a basement area, Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said. She said less than an hour later, as firefighters and emergency medical personnel were working the scene, an explosion rocked the site.
Bonsignore said a civilian died and another person was wounded. She said authorities reported that a fire marshal and a firefighter were seriously injured, while 29 firefighters had minor to moderate injuries and four emergency medical personnel had minor injuries, and all were taken to area hospitals.
At a Friday evening news conference, Bonsignore said, “We got very lucky this day,” adding that none of the city’s people were killed. She also said, “It’s unfortunate we had one fatality, and they did everything they could to get to that person.”
The AP reported that the name of the person who died had not been released as of Saturday.
Dr. David Prezant, the fire department’s chief medical officer, said Fire Marshal Christopher Cuccaro suffered a fractured skull and brain bleed. Prezant said Cuccaro was in critical but stable condition and told reporters that he would be watched carefully over the next 24 hours for possible subsequent brain swelling, saying, “As long as there is not, he should do well.”
Prezant said Cuccaro and another firefighter with serious injuries were wounded by the shock wave from the blast. He said the firefighter was “very well,” and added that “Thankfully both of these firefighters do not have penetrating injuries and do not have blast injury damage to their organs, to their heart, lungs or abdomen.”
Officials said the fire and explosion occurred in a 150-foot-by-150-foot (46 meters by 46 meters) metal structure at the back of the shipyard and that around 200 firefighters and emergency medical personnel responded.
A nearby resident, Richard Oviogor, told WABC-TV that he heard two explosions and what he described as a “big shock wave.” The area includes businesses such as a coffee roasting company and a self-storage facility, and the shipyard had previously been owned by Bethlehem Steel, which built ships for the U.S. Navy during World War II.