A series of explosions on a barge at a commercial shipyard on Staten Island on Friday afternoon killed one person and injured 34 firefighters and emergency medical workers. The explosions led to a fire that was under control, but continued to burn on Friday night, said Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The first explosion happened on a barge at 3:25 p.m. in the Arlington neighborhood, along the North Shore of Staten Island, said Brad Weekes, a spokesman with the Police Department. Firefighters responded to find heavy smoke at the scene and reports of two workers trapped inside the barge, said Lillian Bonsignore, the fire commissioner, at a news conference with Mr. Mamdani.
The firefighters called for backup. Soon after the additional personnel arrived, at 4:19 p.m., the barge erupted in a second explosion, Ms. Bonsignore said. Firefighters were inside the barge, on top of it and adjacent to it at the time of the second blast, fighting the fire and searching for the missing workers, said John Esposito, the chief of department for the Fire Department.
It was unclear when and how the person that died was killed. But they were not a firefighter, according to authorities.
In all, 34 members of the Fire Department were injured, said Ian Swords, a deputy assistant chief in the Fire Department. One, a fire marshal, was in serious condition at Staten Island University Hospital, where he was intubated with a brain injury and a head fracture, said Dr. David J. Prezant, the Fire Department’s chief medical officer. Another firefighter was also taken to the hospital in serious condition, Dr. Prezant said, but by Friday evening he was recovering well. Both were injured by an intense wave of energy from the explosion, Dr. Prezant said.
“As the fire grew, first responders did what they always do,” Mr. Mamdani said at the news conference at Staten Island University Hospital, where he met with families of the injured. “They ran towards danger so others could escape to safety.”
An investigation into what caused the explosions will begin after the fire is extinguished, Mr. Mamdani said. There are no open code violations at the property, or recent violations of any kind filed with the city’s Department of Buildings, according to the agency’s property database.
Staten Island’s North Shore is lined with industrial businesses including tugboat operators, shipyards and barge companies. The coastline is bordered by Richmond Terrace, a busy two-lane road near residential neighborhoods.
Martin Sanchez, an auto mechanic, was finishing lunch with his son Emanuel when they heard a loud blast that shook the floor of their home.
“We ran outside quickly and saw a lot of smoke coming out,” said Mr. Sanchez, who has worked for 22 years at a car repair shop across from the shipyard. “The good thing is that all the neighbors here are very united, so we immediately came out to see if we could help someone.”
Police officers told them to leave the area, Mr. Sanchez said. As he walked back inside his house, a second explosion hit the shipyard, much louder than the first, he said. There were about 40 firefighters on the scene at the time, he said.
Monserrat Duran heard the first explosion from her home on Mercer Avenue, close to the shipyard, she said. After the blast, she went outside along with many of her neighbors to see smoke rising from the shipyard. When the second blast hit, firefighters and police officers rushed toward the scene and ordered Ms. Duran and her neighbors to go back inside their homes.
Christopher Maag is a reporter covering the New York City region for The Times.
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