[Watch] Hazardous Cargo Ship Fire Sends 9 Firefighters To Hospital

• A maritime  expert explains how cargo ship fires are the most deadly because of the automobiles and gasoline they carry
• In a rare incident, this massive fire on a 15-floor cargo ship sent firefighters to the hospital.
• Special oil protection team has to be deployed while the crew sprayed water to douse the fire.

Cargo ship fires regularly put seafarers lives at risk and here’s another which put forward the hazardous nature of it, writes Nick Jones in an article published in News4Jax.

Most Dangerous Fires Faced By Firefighters

Several firefighters are recovering from injuries, some serious, after an explosion occurred while battling a fire Thursday evening aboard a cargo ship docked at Blount Island, according to Fire Chief Keith Powers with the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department.

Fire Chief Keith Powers with the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department said ship fires are some of the most dangerous fires a firefighter will be faced with extinguishing.

Maritime attorney Rod Sullivan spoke with News4Jax about the dangers of cargo ship fires, especially ones that are carrying automobiles.

“Those vehicles are filled with gasoline and gasoline is a highly explosive substance, especially if it becomes vaporized and heats up,”Sullivan said.

“One of the things to be concerned about is whether there are any electronic vehicles on this car carrier, because they’re powered by lithium ion batteries and once lithium ion batteries are exposed to heat and fire, they become very dangerous to personnel.”

It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the explosion that injured the JFRD personnel.

Precautions While Tackling Cargo Ship Fire

Sullivan also spoke about some of the precautions that are taken when moving vehicles aboard a cargo ship.

“Any car carrier is filled with cars with gasoline and oil, and therefore it has these CO2 (carbon dioxide) systems, and it has these deluge systems, and they’re pretty good at extinguishing fires, but a car carrier fire is a very difficult one to extinguish,” Sullivan said.

A Deadly Fire That Injured Firefighters

Based on data from JaxPort, the ship — owned by Hoegh Autoliners — was built in 2010 and sails under the flag of Norway. It originated in Freeport before sailing to the Blount Island Marine Terminal. The ship has 15 floors.

According to Fire Chief Keith Powers, eight firefighters were injured in an explosion, and an additional firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion.

“It’s a tough situation and very dangerous — that’s one of the most dangerous situations firefighters encounter is when they’re in a ship fire,” Powers said.

This morning more firefighters were seen arriving to help, including some with maritime expertise. Crews are spraying the ship with water, not to try to extinguish the flames, but to keep the ship’s exterior cool.

An oil response team is also on the way to the docked ship. To protect the environment, the team plans to put an oil boom in the river. There is already a 500-yard safety zone established around the ship.

According to Powers, 120 JFRD personnel were sent to battle the fire. Eight firefighters were injured in the blast at hospitalized, while an additional firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion.