The fire and explosion at a Staten Island shipyard that killed one and injured dozens of people was an accident caused by paint vapors that ignited, the Fire Department said on Wednesday.
The explosion happened just before 3:30 p.m. on Friday at May Ship Repair Contracting Corporation on the North Shore of Staten Island, officials said. After the Fire Department responded, there was a second explosion, which injured 34 firefighters and emergency medical workers.
In a statement, the Fire Department said that the fire and explosion were accidental and the result of “the ignition of flammable vapors associated with industrial-grade paint within a confined space.”
On Saturday, Nadia Adam, the executive vice president of May Ship Repair Contracting Corporation, said that the man who died in the accident was a subcontractor who had worked with the company on several projects. He had a wife, a son and a daughter, she said.
Ms. Adam said that a dry dock that was under construction had caught fire before the blasts.
Austin Montanti, a marine chemist who performs safety evaluations for 10 of the 12 shipyards on the North Shore, called the situation “completely avoidable.”
The main element of marine-grade paints, Mr. Montanti said, is an industrial solvent called Toluene. He said it has a low flashpoint, meaning it is easily ignitable, especially in the form of spray paint. Using any tool that can cause sparking around Toluene can be catastrophic.
“It isn’t much different from smoking a cigarette while putting gasoline in your car,” Mr. Montanti said.
On Saturday, Ms. Adam told The New York Times that for May Ship Repair, her family’s business, safety was their first priority. The company was cooperating with the Fire Department’s investigation, she said, and had followed their safety protocol when the fire broke out.
Claire Fahy reports on New York City and the surrounding area for The Times.
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