Mayday Call From Burning Cargo Ship in New Jersey Prompted Doomed Rescue Effort for 2 Firefighters

A photo displayed on a video monitor in Union, N.J., Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 shows a burning cargo ship in Newark N.J. on July 5, 2023. Federal investigators are conducting hearings into the blaze that killed two Newark, N.J. fire captains. AP Photo/Wayne Parry

UNION, N.J.—The Grande Costa D’Avorio cargo ship was being loaded with 1,200 West Africa-bound cars at Port Newark last July when a deadly fire began. Dense black smoke limited visibility to about 3 feet, and the floor was so hot it made the soles of a firefighter’s boots begin to peel off.

“We cannot find our way out!” Newark Fire Capt. Augusto “Augie” Acabou yelled into his radio as he tried to fight the growing blaze. “We are lost!”