Explosion on a car carrier ship at Port of Jacksonville, firefighters injured

An explosion occurred on a  car carrier Hoegh Xiamen, a Norwegian-flagged vessel, at the port of Jacksonville, Florida. While battling the fire, the members of firefighter team got injured.

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— MyJFRD (@JFRDJAX) June 4, 2020

There has been an explosion on the ship… firefighters are hurt… this od now an MCI level I

— MyJFRD (@JFRDJAX) June 4, 2020

In a series of tweets, the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department said, “there has been an explosion on the ship… firefighters are hurt.” The department said that it was classifying the incident as a mass casualty incident level one (MCI Level One).

Crews Are responding to Blount Island for a ship fire…E48 Is on scene advising smoke showing starting a second alarm assignment.

— MyJFRD (@JFRDJAX) June 4, 2020

While briefing the media, Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department Chief Keith Powers said “The fire broke out on the vehicle’s seventh deck at about 1600 hours Thursday. It has spread to multiple levels”

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— MyJFRD (@JFRDJAX) June 4, 2020

“It’s a tough situation and very dangerous — that’s one of the most dangerous situations firefighters encounter is when they’re in a ship fire,” Powers said.

All the crew members onboard a car carrier are safe.

All crew members are off the ship and accounted for… there are no injuries at this time.

— MyJFRD (@JFRDJAX) June 4, 2020

The cause of the fire is under investigation.