1 dead, 37 injured after 'major explosion' rocks Staten Island shipyard 5%
By Kerry Burke35% Colin Mixson63%
5/22/2026, 3:09:42 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 12 faulty reasoning types, including Appeal to Authority, Availability Heuristic, and Anecdotal, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 19.7% saturation with 103 hits. Analysis detected 514 faulty-reasoning hits from 522 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 20.5% and a BS Rank of 5% (20,806 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 95.10% of the article peer group.
A fire at a Staten Island shipyard sparked a massive explosion that left one man dead and 35 people hospitalized Friday — most of them firefighters and first responders, fire officials said.
Firefighters responding to reports of two workers trapped in a confined space at the drydock located in Mariners Harbor found a fire burning in the basement of a metal structure at the rear of the facility around 3:30 p.m., according to the FDNY.
"This was a complex, fast-developing emergency situation," Mayor Mamdani said at a press briefing at Staten Island University Hospital.
About 50 minutes after the blaze broke out — as smoke eaters were still battling the now two-alarm fire at the Richmond Terrace dockyard near Andros Ave. — the building was suddenly rocked by a thunderous explosion.
The blast caused "serious injuries to multiple FDNY members," FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said.
A fire marshal struck during the explosion suffered serious injuries, including a fracture to the right side of his skull and bleeding on the left side of his brain.
He is currently intubated at Staten Island University Hospital in critical but stable condition, and doctors will be monitoring his brain for swelling over the next 24 hours.
In addition, a firefighter was seriously injured in the blast, but is stable at Staten Island University Hospital.
Of the 34 injured FDNY personnel, two were medics.
One civilian worker was also injured, while another was killed in the blast.
"I send my deepest condolences to their loved ones," Mamdani said of the worker who died.
The fire marshal and the seriously injured firefighter were both struck by the explosion as they searched a confined space for the missing workers, which made them especially vulnerable to the energy wave emitted during the massive combustion, according to a doctor who spoke at the briefing.
"Blast energy in a confined space… can hit you and penetrate organs," said the doctor.
"Both of these firefighters do not have penetrating injuries and do not have blast injuries to their heart, lung or abdomen."
More than 200 firefighters and emergency medical personnel from 68 units were at the site early Friday evening.
The fire was placed under control at 7:20 p.m., according to the FDNY.
The cause of the fire and explosion is still under investigation.
A nearby resident heard the explosion from his home across the street from the shipyard.
"When you live around here, you hear a lot of big metal clunking.
But this was different," said the man, who gave his name as Dave, 69.
"There was a big plume of black smoke overhead.
It disappeared as quickly as it came, and then all hell broke loose."
Richard Oviogor, who was in the area, told WABC-TV that he heard two explosions and what seemed like a “big shock wave.”
The area is home to several businesses, including a coffee roasting company and a self-storage facility.
The shipyard used to be owned by the Bethlehem Steel Company, which built ships for the U.S.
Navy during World War II.
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