The U.S. Coast Guard’s hearing into last July’s fatal ship fire at Port Newark resumed on Tuesday, with a focus on communication failures on the part of firefighters and the Italian cargo ship Grande Costa D’Avorio.
Newark Fire Division officials testified at length about the challenges they faced responding to the fire, including problems with firefighter radios and difficulties communicating with the cargo ship’s crew due to language barriers. That built on testimony from a federal fire investigator on Friday afternoon that detailed how the fire spread through the ship and how firefighters responded.
The hearing into the fire, which left two Newark firefighters dead, continues on Wednesday.
