Current:Home > FinanceHose kink in smoky darkness disoriented firefighter in ship blaze that killed 2 colleagues-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Hose kink in smoky darkness disoriented firefighter in ship blaze that killed 2 colleagues
View Date:2024-12-23 23:30:10
UNION, N.J. (AP) — A kink in a fire hose stretched out in the smoky darkness of a cargo ship fire disoriented a New Jersey fire captain as he tried to follow the hose back to safety, separating him from two other firefighters who later died amid the blaze, the captain testified Tuesday.
Newark Fire Department Capt. Oswald Robetto testified at an investigative hearing being held by the U.S. Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board into the July 5, 2023, fire on board the Italian-owned Grande Costa D’Avorio.
Fire Captains Augusto “Augie” Acabou and Wayne Brooks Jr. died in that fire at Port Newark, one of the nation’s busiest seaports.
Robetto, Acabou and a third firefighter advanced into the smoke on deck 10, near the top of the 12-level ship where the fire broke out amid a cargo of 1,200 autos bound for west Africa.
They followed a hose line through the darkness, eventually reaching Brooks at its nozzle, who was spraying water on the ceiling, Robetto testified.
“I asked him, ‘What are you hitting?’ ” Robetto said. “He replied, ‘Just keeping the ceiling cool.’ ”
Brooks had a thermal imaging camera with him, a device that allows firefighters to see through smoke and look for signs of heat, such as flames or the body heat of a human being.
Robetto did a quick scan with the camera and did not find anything of concern, when a battalion chief ordered them to retreat with the hose back to where they had started on the deck.
“Let’s go, they want us out,” he told Acabou and Brooks.
The three men turned around and began following the hose back out. Acabou was in front, Robetto in the middle and Brooks behind him.
At this point, Brooks’s face mask started vibrating, a warning that his air supply was running low. Robetto directed Brooks to move to the head of the line, holding onto the firefighter’s jacket to make sure he did not get lost during the switch, where visibility was no more than arm’s length.
They slowly followed the hose line out, holding it in their hands.
Someone — Robetto did not recall who — said, “The line goes this way.” That’s when Robetto noticed a kink in the hose, similar to the folded-over obstruction in a garden hose that prevents water from flowing.
“I got stuck; I hesitated,” Robetto testified. “I knelt down to look at the kink. I just kept saying to myself, ‘This is impossible. How did this happen?’”
Disoriented, Robetto said he left the line and began searching for a wall, as firefighters are trained to do when they lose their bearings in low-visibility situations. His own mask began to vibrate, meaning he, too was running low on air.
Robetto used his radio to issue a call for help. There was testimony last week indicating the call might have come from Acabou but Robetto said it was he who issued it.
“Mayday, mayday, mayday!” Robetto recalled yelling into the radio. “Engine 16, I’m separated from the line, separated from the others. I’m running low on air!”
Robetto eventually reached a doorway and safety. He believed Brooks and Acabou had made their way back to the end of the hose and safety as well.
They had not.
It was not until a roll call was taken on the ship’s deck that it became clear the two firefighters were missing. Robetto recalled being on the deck, covered by a foot of water that was “boiling hot” due to the fire below.
“I was pretty much in shock at what had just happened,” he testified.
Acabou was found wedged tightly between vehicles; it took more than an hour to free him using a hydraulic rescue tool known as the “jaws of life.”
Brooks was found lying on in a different part of the same deck. Both were unresponsive and were declared dead at a Newark hospital after being lowered to the dock using a crane on board the cargo ship.
The hearing is scheduled to continue through Thursday.
___
Follow Wayne Parry on X, formerly Twitter, at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC
veryGood! (63)
Related
- Republican Dan Newhouse wins reelection to US House in Washington
- Kentucky spending plan calling for more state funding of student transportation advances
- Cal Ripken Jr. and Grant Hill are part of the investment team that has agreed to buy the Orioles
- Parents arrested in case of social media model charged with killing boyfriend
- Spirit Airlines cancels release of Q3 financial results as debt restructuring talks heat up
- AP-NORC poll finds an uptick in positive ratings of the US economy, but it’s not boosting Biden
- Georgia district attorney prosecuting Trump has been subpoenaed over claims of improper relationship
- Did 'Wheel of Fortune' player get cheated out of $40,000? Contestant reveals what she said
- Who is Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Florida congressman Donald Trump picked to serve as attorney general?
- AP-NORC poll finds an uptick in positive ratings of the US economy, but it’s not boosting Biden
Ranking
- Too Hot to Handle’s Francesca Farago Gives Birth, Welcomes Twins With Jesse Sullivan
- The Chicken Tax (Classic)
- Kentucky spending plan calling for more state funding of student transportation advances
- House passes bipartisan tax bill to expand child tax credit
- Halle Berry Rocks Sheer Dress She Wore to 2002 Oscars 22 Years Later
- Revenge porn bill backed by former candidate Susanna Gibson advances
- Duchess Meghan, Prince Harry share emotional message after Senate hearing on online safety
- Norfolk Southern to let workers use anonymous federal safety hotline one year after derailment
Recommendation
-
Can I take on 2 separate jobs in the same company? Ask HR
-
Premature birth rate rose 12% since 2014, the CDC reports. A doctor shares what to know.
-
Hinton Battle, who played Scarecrow in Broadway's 'The Wiz,' dies at 67 after long illness
-
The meaningful reason Travis Kelce wears a No. 87 jersey
-
Exclusive Yankee Candle Sale: 50% Off Holiday Candles for a Limited Time
-
You’ll Love Jessica Biel’s Birthday Tribute to Justin Timberlake—This We Promise You
-
A court rejected Elon Musk’s $55.8B pay package. What is he worth to Tesla?
-
3 dead, 9 injured after 'catastrophic' building collapse near Boise, Idaho, airport