00:00broke out in Richmond Terrace here on Staten Island. An explosion was reported
00:03shortly afterwards. This was a complex, fast-developing emergency situation. More
00:11than 30 New Yorkers, both civilians and first responders, have sustained injuries.
00:16Two first responders with non-life-threatening injuries have been
00:19transported here to Staten Island University Hospital. Both are stable.
00:24One fire marshal is in critical condition and one firefighter is in serious
00:29condition. A few minutes ago I met with the firefighter and his family as well as
00:34the fire marshal's family. I am deeply moved by their courage as well as by
00:39their service to this city. I am heartbroken to report that one civilian has
00:44passed away. I send my deepest condolences to their loved ones. I want to express
00:49my gratitude to every first responder who rushed to the scene. As the fire
00:54grew, first responders did what they always do. They ran towards danger so
00:59others could escape to safety. Firefighters responded from all across our
01:03city. This has been an all hands-on-deck response from approximately 70 fire and
01:09EMS units. More than 200 first responders are on site in an active fire scene
01:15right now. I commend each of them for their quick response and for their
01:19courage. Firefighters have brought this fire under control. However, this does
01:24remain an active fire scene. Once the fire has been extinguished, FDNY marshals
01:30will hold a comprehensive investigation into its cause. The information that
01:34yields will then be shared with New Yorkers as soon as we have it. In the
01:38meantime, I want to ask New Yorkers to keep those who have been injured and the
01:43person we lost in our thoughts and to wish them a quick recovery. I also want to add
01:47that earlier today I was with the fire commissioner alongside a firefighter and a
01:54woman that he saved after using his bare hands to save her from a car that was
02:01overflowing with water the other night during flash floods across Brooklyn and
02:05Queens. That is just one example. This evening is another of the incredible work
02:10that the men and women of the FDNY do every single day, so often without recognition, so
02:17often without the notice from across the city. And I want to make very clear just
02:22how much we appreciate that work, how life saving it is, how transformative it is for
02:27so many families who can rest assured knowing that there are men and women like
02:32these who will do everything in their power to keep them safe. That is the story of
02:37this fire as well. It is first responders from across the city rushing in to try and
02:42save the lives of those who are in danger and in doing so expose themselves as well
02:47to that danger. And we now continue to pray for them and their families as they
02:51make this recovery. I will now pass it over to our fire commissioner. Thank you, Mr.
02:56Mayor, and thank you for the kind words and being here with us during this difficult
03:00time. This is one of those very difficult fires that happened. About 3.30 or so we
03:06received multiple phone calls for smoke in the area of 3075 Richmond Terrace. Our unit
03:13showed up within six minutes and they were met with limited visibility and high levels
03:19of smoke, heavy smoke. There was a fire in a basement of a 150 by 150 metal structure in
03:27the rear of a shipping dock. We knew that two workers were trapped in the basement and there
03:33was a fire. The changes in the conditions caused our units to transmit a second alarm, which
03:40brought additional resources to the scene. Shortly after our companies were there, we
03:46had an explosion. And the explosion caused serious injuries to multiple FDNY members.
03:53We had over 30, as the mayor said, over 30 patients that mostly were EMS and fire. We had
04:02a few civilians and unfortunately one fatality. This was a very complex situation that put
04:10us in a position to really show the skill and the bravery of the FDNY. This is stuff that
04:17they do over and over and over again. We got very lucky this day. We got lucky in the sense
04:23that none of our people were killed. It's unfortunate that we had one fatality and they did everything
04:30they had they could to get to that person. I'll turn this over to Chief of Department, John Esposito
04:36to talk about the operation.
04:41Thank you, Commissioner, and thank you, Mr. Mayor. So when our units arrived on the scene,
04:45we were confronted with a fire and a confined space and a report of workers missing. Confined
04:55spaces are very dangerous operations for any rescuers. We initiated firefighting operations
05:05and search and rescue operations. While we were conducting these searches, a second explosion
05:12occurred. We had firefighters inside conducting searches and on top of the barge and adjacent
05:19to the barge. We had several that were injured. We did recover a deceased civilian. The fire
05:28is now under control. All searches have been conducted. There is nobody remaining unaccounted
05:34for and there will be an ongoing investigation. I'll now turn it over to Deputy Assistant Chief
05:40Ian Swards from EMS to talk about our injured members. Thank you, Chief. This incident produced
05:50a total of 36 patients. Two are civilians. Like we said, we had one deceased left the scene. One was
05:57transported to Richmond University Medical Center and also 34 members of the FDNY, including the
06:03fire marshal and firefighter and two rescue paramedics who were transported here. In addition, about 10 were
06:10brought over to Richmond University Medical Center. That's all we got. I'll turn it over to Dr.
06:18Brazant. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Fire Commissioner. Thank you, Chief of Department. I'm here to
06:26brief you on the two most seriously ill firefighters. One, a fire marshal who is currently intubated and
06:34the other a firefighter who is currently doing very, very well. In a confined space, you are susceptible
06:42to the obvious, which is flying debris. But that, thankfully, is not what these two very brave firefighters
06:50are suffering from. They're suffering from something that is silent, which is a blast energy. In a confined
06:58space, that energy hits you and can penetrate organs. Thankfully, both of these firefighters do not have
07:06penetrating injuries and they do not have blast injury damage to their organs, to their heart, lungs, or abdomen.
07:14However, fire marcher Kuchara has been impacted by this wave of energy to his head and brain.
07:25He has a small temporal fracture on the right side, which will heal well, and he has a small brain
07:33bleed on the
07:34left side. We will be watching him very carefully over the next 24 hours to make certain there is not
07:41subsequent brain swelling. As long as there is not, he should do well. But right now, he is very critical,
07:49but stable.
07:50He is intubated, and he is on multiple medications to keep him calm so that his brain can repair itself.
07:59In terms of the other firefighter, the other firefighter was in serious condition when he arrived, but is doing
08:06very well now. He is being observed to make certain that there is no subsequent muscle injury.
08:13Overall, over the next day, we should have hopefully better news for tomorrow. Thank you.
08:22I'm Vito Fisola. I want to thank the mayor for coming to Staten Island. I want to thank the fire
08:28commissioner
08:28and her great team. They are the greatest fire department in the world.
08:33And as bad as today was, and as bad as today is, it could have been worse.
08:41Our prayers, our thoughts are with the family of the deceased. Our prayers and our thoughts are with
08:49those 35 or 36 who were injured. And it's a stark reminder, has been sort of alluded to,
08:59of the danger, inherent danger that comes with these jobs, EMS and firefighters. When people are
09:05running out and looking for salvation, they're running into the danger. And I can just imagine
09:13what some of their family members are thinking. So what's important here is that we come together
09:19as a family. There's no family better than the New York City Fire Department. They will be there
09:24for those who are injured in the EMS. Staten Island is a family that we come together and we're there
09:29for one another in a time of need. So we will continue to be there. Whatever we can do, we
09:34will be.
09:35Staten Island University Hospital is a family that now is entrusted with the care of these individuals
09:40under Dr. Prezant. So let's stick together. Let's keep these folks in our prayers. Let's make sure that
09:48this can't happen again. But let us know one thing, that this fire department in New York City EMS,
09:55there is nobody better. And let's pray that these men walk out of here on their own two feet in
10:01the
10:01not-too-distant future. Thank you.
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