One civilian died and 36 people were injured after a fire and two explosions at a shipyard on Staten Island, New York City officials said. Most of those hurt were firefighters and other first responders called to a report of smoke and workers trapped in a confined space.
The Fire Department received multiple calls at about 3:30 p.m. reporting smoke and two trapped workers in the basement of a metal structure at the rear of the shipyard. Fire and emergency medical crews arrived within six minutes, according to Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore.
An explosion occurred soon after the response began, seriously injuring several Fire Department members and civilians. Five firefighters and rescue paramedics were searching inside, on top of and alongside the roughly 150-foot-square structure when a second blast struck. The shock wave seriously injured a firefighter and a fire marshal who were inside.
The fire marshal was described as critical but stable with a fractured skull and a small brain bleed. The firefighter arrived at hospital in serious condition but was doing well later Friday and remained under observation for possible muscle injuries, the department's chief medical officer said. The civilian victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
More than 200 firefighters remained at the shipyard Friday night after bringing the fire under control. Mayor Zohran Mamdani described the emergency as complex and rapidly developing. Officials said a comprehensive investigation would begin when conditions allowed, and no cause had been established in the supplied reporting.
Confined spaces present particular risks because access and escape routes are limited while heat, smoke, gases and blast pressure can accumulate. In this case, crews were responding to reports that workers were trapped below ground when the sequence of explosions exposed rescuers positioned around the structure. The casualty pattern reflected that danger: emergency personnel accounted for most of those injured.
The shipyard sits in an area that also includes a coffee-roasting business and a storage facility. Authorities warned people nearby to expect road closures and traffic delays while the large response continued. The property was formerly owned by Bethlehem Steel, which built ships for the United States Navy during World War II.
Attention after the immediate rescue and firefighting operation was expected to turn to the fire's origin, the source of both explosions and the conditions inside the basement. Investigators also had to reconstruct the timing of both blasts around the responders' entry. Until investigators could safely examine the scene, officials limited their account to the confirmed death, injury toll and sequence reported by responders.
