The family that owns the shipyard where two explosions killed one person and injured dozens of others on Friday said that a dock that was under construction had caught fire before the blasts.
Nadia Adam, the executive vice president of May Ship Repair Contracting Corporation, was at the scene on Saturday. She said the construction on the dock had been underway for nine months without incident.
She identified the person killed as a subcontractor who had worked with the company on multiple projects. He had a wife, a son and a daughter, Ms. Adam said.
The Fire Department and the Police Department were there on Saturday investigating the explosions, and the company was cooperating, Ms. Adam said.
Ms. Adam, who works alongside her father and brother, described May Ship Repair as a small, family-owned business that hires locally and has fewer than 50 employees. She said they were cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
“Safety is our first priority,” Ms. Adam said. “Understanding what happened is our first priority.”
Just before 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Ms. Adam was in her office at the shipyard when she was told there had been an explosion. The company called 911 and followed its safety protocol, she said.
After the Fire Department responded, a second explosion rocked the dock, injuring dozens of firefighters and emergency medical workers.
The fire began on Friday on a dry dock — a U-shaped extension of an existing dock that ships can rest on above the water — that was under construction, she said.
It was not clear how the fire led to two explosions.
The first occurred inside a tank in a wall of the dry dock, an area that allows the dock to raise up and down to accommodate barges, Ms. Adam said.
She added that it was unclear where the second explosion had occurred or what had caused it.
The fire was extinguished by Friday evening, according to the Fire Department, and more than 200 emergency workers responded to the scene. In all, 34 members of the Fire Department were injured, Ian Swords, a deputy assistant chief in the department, said at a news conference on Friday.
A fire marshal was in serious condition on Friday night at Staten Island University Hospital, where he was intubated with a brain injury and a head fracture, Dr. David J. Prezant, the Fire Department’s chief medical officer, said at the news conference.
Another firefighter who was taken to the hospital in serious condition was recovering by Friday evening, Dr. Prezant said. An intense wave of energy from the explosion injured them both, he said.
Staten Island’s North Shore neighborhood is a hub of industrial businesses lining Richmond Terrace — towing companies, storage units, boat repair. On Saturday, as rain fell along the usually busy two-lane road, strands of yellow police tape hinted at the tragedy that had hit the day before.
At May Ship Repair, a fire truck stood guard for much of Saturday morning, blocking access to the company’s property.
Ms. Adam stood at the scene on Saturday afternoon, rain hitting her hard hat.
“We are extremely shaken,” Ms. Adam said.
Claire Fahy reports on New York City and the surrounding area for The Times.
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