1 person has died after blast at Staten Island shipyard that also injured over 30 people, officials say

A civilian died and more than 30 New Yorkers, mostly first responders, were injured in a fire and a pair of explosions Friday afternoon at a shipyard on Staten Island, FDNY officials said.

A fire marshal was in critical but stable condition Friday night.

Although the fire was deemed under control, some 200 first responders remained about 8 p.m. at what was considered an “active fire scene,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said during a Friday night news conference at Staten Island University Hospital, where several of those injured were being treated.

“Once the fire has been extinguished, FDNY marshals will hold a comprehensive investigation into its cause,” Mamdani said.

Officials did not identify the person who died, or any of those injured.

The “very difficult” incident began about 3:30 p.m. when the FDNY responded to multiple calls for smoke at a shipyard on Richmond Terrace, Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said Friday evening. Within six minutes, first responders arrived and encountered heavy smoke.

“We knew that two workers were trapped in a basement and there was a fire,” Bonsignore said. More firefighters and EMS personnel arrived.

“Shortly after our companies were there, we had an explosion,” the commissioner added. “The explosion caused serious injuries to multiple FDNY members.”

As first responders conducted firefighting and search-and-rescue operations, “a second explosion occurred,” according to Chief of Department John Esposito.

Richard Oviogor, who was nearby, told WABC-TV that he heard a pair of explosions described them as a “big shock wave.”

The area surrounding the shipyard, on the north side of Staten Island, has several businesses, including a self-storage facility and a coffee roasting company. In its previous incarnation, the shipyard was owned by the Bethlehem Steel Company, which built U.S. Navy ships during World War II.

A  total of 34 fire and EMS personnel were transported to various medical facilities.

The two members of the department most severely injured by the shock wave — a firefighter and a fire marshal — were still being treated at Staten Island University Hospital as of 8 p.m. The firefighter arrived in serious condition but was “currently doing very well,” FDNY Chief Medical Officer David Prezant said. The fire marshal, he said, was “very critical but stable,” “intubated” and “on multiple medications to keep him calm so that his brain can repair itself.”

“He has a small temporal fracture on the right side, which will heal well, and he has a small brain bleed on the left side,” Prezant said. “We will be watching him very carefully over the next 24 hours to make sure there is not subsequent brain swelling.”

The mayor said he met with the families of both first responders and was “deeply moved by their courage as well as their service to this city.”

“As the fire grew, first responders did what they always do: They ran towards danger so that others could escape to safety,” Mamdani said. “Firefighters responded from all across our city. This has been an all-hands-on-deck response from approximately 70 fire and EMS units."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.