Union, kin of firefighters killed in cargo ship blaze call for new Newark fire department leadership

By WAYNE PARRY
Associated Press

UNION, N.J. (AP) — Families of two New Jersey firefighters killed in a cargo ship fire and a powerful firefighters’ union want the top leadership of the Newark Fire Department to be replaced. Ed Kelly, president of the International Association of Firefighters, joined relatives of Newark Fire Captains Augusto Acabou and Wayne Brooks Jr. on Wednesday to denounce the performance of then-Fire Chief Rufus Jackson at the July 5, 2023, fire in Port Newark. Acabou’s younger brother says the deaths were preventable, and Brooks’s widow says the families are being hurt once again. Jackson was promoted to assistant public safety director two months after the blaze. Newark officials did not respond to requests for comment.