Authorities were still looking for the cause of a fire and explosion at a Staten Island shipyard after one civilian died and more than 30 firefighters and other first responders were injured, officials said.
The fire was reported Friday afternoon in the Mariners Harbor neighborhood on the north shore of Staten Island, and the department said firefighters were called about 3:30 p.m. on reports of a fire, heavy smoke and two workers trapped in a basement area.
Less than an hour after responders started working the scene, authorities said an explosion rocked the site, compounding the emergency and sending additional people to hospitals, the department said.
Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said Saturday that she and other officials had not provided major updates to the incidents as investigators examined what happened. She said some firefighters remained at the scene as a precaution while investigators worked.
In separate injury breakdowns given at a Friday news conference, city officials said a civilian died and another person was wounded. Authorities said 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.
“We got very lucky this day,” Bonsignore said at Friday’s news conference. “We got lucky in the sense that none of our people were killed. It’s unfortunate we had one fatality, and they did everything they could to get to that person.” The name of the civilian 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 a brain bleed and was in critical but stable condition. Prezant said the department planned to monitor him closely over the next 24 hours to watch for any subsequent brain swelling.
Prezant said Cuccaro and the other firefighter with serious injuries were wounded by the blast’s shock wave. He said the firefighter was “very well,” and that both seriously injured firefighters did not have penetrating injuries and did not have blast injury damage to organs including the heart, lungs or abdomen.
Bonsignore said the fire and explosion happened in a 150-foot-by-150-foot (46 meters by 46 meters) metal structure at the back of the shipyard, and authorities said around 200 firefighters and emergency medical personnel responded. She also said the shipyard is located among businesses in the area, including a coffee roasting company and a self-storage facility.
A witness, Richard Oviogor, told WABC-TV that he heard two explosions and what seemed like a “big shock wave.” Investigators were combing through the site on Saturday as they tried to determine the cause, after firefighters returned to the shipyard to continue emergency operations and keep the scene secured.
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