By Steve Strunsky | NJ.com
nj.com
NEWARK, N.J. — It was three years ago today that Newark firefighters Augusto “Augie” Acabou and Wayne “Bear” Brooks Jr. died aboard a freighter bound for West Africa loaded with 1,200 junked cars. The incident shocked and saddened the community, prompting criticism of the lack of preparedness for shipboard fires, followed by reform efforts and litigation.
Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka and Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda issued a joint statement on Sunday’s third anniversary of the blaze, remembering the pair.
| REPORTS: Grande Costa D’Avorio cargo ship fire
“No amount of time will ever soothe the shock or undo the tragedy of July 5, 2023,” the statement read. “But these three years have deeply expanded our gratitude for the lives of these dedicated heroes and their unwavering commitment to serving the people of Newark. Our respect and admiration for their lives continue to increase exponentially as we draw upon the legacy they planted in our community.”
A report issued by the Coast Guard in January included a list of mistakes compounded after a fire broke out aboard the Italian-flagged Grande Costa D’Avorio as it was tied up dockside at Port Newark.
They included what the Coast Guard said was the Newark Division of Fire’s failure to deploy Pak-Tracker receivers kept in the vehicles of several battalion chiefs, which investigators said might have pinpointed the location of the missing firefighters for rescuers inside the infernal, smoke-filled ship before their breathing tanks ran out of air.
The Coast Guard report also echoed earlier criticisms by the National Transportation Safety Board. In an April 2025 hearing, NTSB members said the fire division failed to properly train firefighters in advance of the port fire and had done little in the nearly two years up to that point to prepare for another disaster at the largest shipping port on the East Coast.
The families of Acabou, 45, and Brooks, 49, have filed a $50 million wrongful death suit in U.S. District Court in Newark, charging that the city failed to properly train and equip the men to deal with conditions aboard the Grande Costa d’Avorio. The suit also charges that the ship’s owners operated it in a dangerous and unseaworthy condition.
Newark officials have pushed back on the criticism, insisting reforms have been implemented. For example, officials say the fire division has created new standard operating procedures to improve safety fighting shipboard fires, and that the city and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey created a special unit to provide around-the-clock responses to port emergencies.
On Sunday, Baraka and Miranda added that the fire division had improved its ability to respond and react to such incidents through a “drone program for situational awareness.” The statement also mentioned the Pak-Trackers intended to help locate downed firefighters.
The statement said the fatal incident three years ago “has brought national attention and legislative reform that now empowers firefighters throughout the country with upgraded training and equipment.”
Specifically, it noted, the establishment of a round-the-clock “dedicated special operations battalion chief who serves as a safety officer; a rapid intervention team dedicated to firefighter rescue citywide; and firefighter survival and shipboard firefighting awareness training.
Acabou and Brooks each have had a Newark firehouse named after him.
“They will be dearly missed forever,” the statement said.
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