Firefighter officials are butting heads in Newark, NJ after two firefighters passed away in a cargo ship fire.
Newark Fire Chief Rufus Jackson said that there was adequate staffing and thorough training for the firefighters. However, Newark Fire Officers Union president Anthony Tarantino argues that it was the complete opposite.
Tarantino said that the “thorough” training was only an hour and a half long, and was at most a review to give awareness. Besides that, he said that there was never a set of standard operating procedures.
“Ship port firefighting training has never existed,” said Tarantino. “I’ve been a firefighter for 34 years. There have been some tabletop exercises and there are a group of guys, only two of which are still on the fire department that went for training approximately 10 years ago.”
When told that the chief was going to provide Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on ship fires, Tarantino said that they were never going to get it because it does not exist.
