Families of fallen Newark firefighters "disturbed" by testimony from former fire chief
UNION, N.J. -- It has been more than six months since a cargo ship fire left two Newark firefighters dead.
Wednesday, the United States Coast Guard continued a hearing where workers and officials, including Newark's former fire chief, spoke about what they knew. The family of the fallen firefighters spoke after listening to the emotional testimony.
Rufus Jackson, Newark's former fire chief, broke down when asked about two city fire boats in the port he believed were working but testimony later confirmed had not been operational when the inferno broke out on the Italian vessel, killing firefighters Augusto "Auggie" Acabou and Wayne Brooks Jr.
Jackson also admitted Newark firefighters were not trained to fight ship fires since 2014 even though Coast Guard exercises were available annually.
"The family and I are deeply, deeply disturbed, upset, heartbroken all over again by the things that we heard these last two weeks, especially today from Rufus Jackson," said Michele Brooks, Wayne Brooks Jr.'s wife.
Jackson, who became chief in 2017 and was promoted after the fire, blames the lack of training on COVID.
"The gap is part by the world being shut down," he said.
"Then-chief Rufus was a self-appointed liaison to the New Jersey Fire Boat Task Force and failed to show up to the meetings, failed to participate in the trainings. When he showed up on July 5, he never took command. This level of incompetence and negligence rises, in my opinion, to criminal," said Edward Kelly, with the International Association of Firefighters.
We've reached out to the city of Newark, and they've promised a response.
According to testimony, the fire started in the undercarriage of a Jeep Wrangler, a vehicle that was being used to push other cars on board.
The attorney representing families is planning legal action against the city of Newark and the vessel operator.
"The vehicle had a long-standing history of experiencing mechanical issues," family attorney Mark Apostolos said.
"Bottom line, clearly, clearly Auggie and Wayne's death was preventable," said Miguel Acabou, Augusto Acabou's brother.
The hearing continues through Thursday. The National Transportation Safety Board is doing its own investigation.
The ship owner, the Grimaldi Group, has said pusher vehicles are regularly used to load vehicles on cargo ships, but they can't comment because two other companies own and operate that side of the business.
CBS New York later received the following statement from Newark Public Safety Director Fritz Fragé:
On July 5, 2023, Newark's firefighters set out to do their job - nothing more and nothing less. And the unexpected, tragic outcome has devastated two families and left a city heartbroken.
We look forward to learning from this inquiry so that the horror of that day never repeats itself. And in the process, we are obligated to correct misunderstandings.
As Fire Chief, Rufus Jackson was not self-appointed to the Fire Boat Task Force. However, he did assign two members to attend those meetings on behalf of the Newark Fire Division and to brief the Fire Division Command Staff on those meetings.
Additionally, it was not operationally feasible to deploy a fireboat to the port fire because of the cargo ship's height and size.
Assistant Director Jackson's credentials cannot be disputed. As the top-scoring candidate in the statewide fire chief exam, who consistently demonstrated leadership, moving up through the ranks in his 29 years of service with the Newark Fire Division, he was more than qualified to assume the role as Fire Chief.
On top of that, knowing the love he had for his fellow firefighters, it is inconceivable that he would act with negligence or disregard for their safety.