“We were very lucky last night to not have any deaths. It could have easily been a lot worse,” the Jacksonville firefighters union president said.
As flames continues in the upper decks of an auto hauler ship that caught fire Thursday at Blount Island, five of eight firefighters seriously burned in an evening explosion have recovered enough to go home, according to fire officials.
The reason for the fire raging inside the top five decks of the almost 600-foot-long M/V Höegh Xiamen remains under investigation by local, state and federal officials as predictions indicate it could keep burning for days or even weeks.
Jacksonville Fire Chief Keith Powers said he learned the good news about some of his first responders Friday afternoon, but tempered that with what the others have to face after suffering burns to hands, face and ears in the explosion.
“We have three who have to remain in the hospital,” Powers said. “They are facing more surgeries and skin grafts. They have a long road to hoe, just keep them in your thoughts and prayers.”
Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville Capt. Mark Vlan said firefighters told him the cars on the top five decks that are ablaze were melting from the heat. He said the explosion could have occurred due to a pressure build-up in the upper decks during the initial fire after the ship’s emergency systems closed vents.
“Importantly, the fire has gone up and not down,” he said. “Most of the machinery spaces and the fuel is all in the lower portion, and those areas remain in the 90- to 100-degree range, which is about as successful as can be.”
The initial fire on board the 10-year-old vehicle carrier was reported about 4 p.m. on the seventh deck, Höegh Autoliners confirmed. The ship had loaded about 900 vehicles in Texas, then picked up 1,500 more in Jacksonville. It was to go to Baltimore to get about 900 more before bringing them to Africa when the fire and explosion occurred, JaxPort officials said.
Two of the four injured firefighters sent to the UF Health Shands Burn Center in Gainesville were released, Jacksonville Association of Fire Fighters President Randy Wyse said. Three who were being treated at UF Health Jacksonville have also been released, he said.
“We were very lucky last night to not have any deaths. It could have easily been a lot worse,” Wyse said. “We had members inside of a ship, then there’s an explosion that occurs. The first thought is that it is not good. We are very pleased that the injuries were not any worse than they are. They are serious.”
The Coast Guard is bringing more crews in to work with structural engineers as the fire department boats spray water on the hull to keep it cool, officials said. That would prevent the ship’s fuel from catching fire and damaging it enough that it might sink at its 38-foot-deep berth.
The Coast Guard credited the fire department marine division’s 70-foot fire boat with helping keep the Höegh Xiamen afloat as it burned.
“Had it not been for that boat, the ship would have probably broke in half and sunk,” Powers said. “… It helped save the environment here.”
All crew members were able to get safely off the ship before the explosion just before 7 p.m., Norway-based Höegh Autoliners said. There are no reports of pollution as a safety zone has been established around the vessel as a precaution. And CEO Thor Jorgen Guttormsen thanked Jacksonville’s fire department for its efforts in a Friday statement.
“We wish them a swift recovery,” he said. “Jacksonville firefighters responded immediately and have worked tirelessly to control the fire.”
JaxPort CEO Eric Green also asked the community to pray for the injured firefighters, saying the Blount Island facility remains open with a safety zone set up around the burning ship.
No firefighters have returned inside the ship since it is still an active fire, Wyse saying it was “almost like fighting a junkyard fire in a ship.”
“They had difficulty climbing over cars and accessing the fire; very, very difficult and very labor intensive,” he said.
A Coast Guard reconnaissance crew briefly went inside the lower aft section of the ship Friday afternoon to check areas under the fire, Vlan said. More surveys of the ship could be done Saturday after the Coast Guard established a 500-yard safety zone around the ship to contain any possible pollution. There has been no environmental impact so far, officials said.
This was the worst ship fire Jacksonville firefighters have battled in four decades. Fire Lt. Joseph F. Stichway was killed on May 25, 1979, as he tried to rescue workers trapped in the hull of a burning oil barge at the Jacksonville Shipyards, according to the fire department. Overwhelmed by gas fumes, Stichway fell off a 40-foot ladder in a blaze that left 21 other firefighters and six barge crew members injured.
Powers thanked the community for its “outpouring of support” for the injured firefighters and their families. Wyse said the firefighters union has a burn fund set up to help them as well.
Dan Scanlan: (904) 359-4549
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