Two firefighters were killed and five others injured battling a blaze that began deep inside a docked cargo ship carrying more than a thousand vehicles, officials said Thursday.Responding firefighters found five to seven vehicles already on fire when they reached the 10th floor of the cargo ship at Port Newark around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday night. The blaze quickly extended to the 11th and 12th floors, and as firefighters were pushed back by the intense heat, two of them were lost, Newark Fire Chief Rufus Jackson said at a news conference at the port, where the fire was still burning early Thursday,Firefighters weren't initially able to find their colleagues. Outside rescue companies from around the state were called in. Augusto "Augie" Acabou, 45, and Wayne "Bear" Brooks Jr., 49, were found and removed from the structure but unfortunately they lost their lives, Jackson said.In the video player above: City lost "two of our best ... two of our bravest," mayor says of firefighters who died.Three Newark firefighters and two Elizabeth firefighters were treated for injuries including smoke inhalation. All were expected to recover, but their names and details on their conditions were not disclosed.Marine traffic trackers show the Italian-flagged Grande Costa d'Avorio, which was built in 2011, arrived from the Port of Baltimore several days earlier. Grimaldi Deep Sea said the fire broke out on the ship's 10th deck as its 28 crew members and local stevedores were completing the loading of more than 1,200 new and used cars, vans and trucks bound for West Africa.The company's statement said the crew immediately activated on-board fire suppression procedures and the local firefighting service was alerted, triggering a prompt response that was crucial to containing and controlling the blaze. It also said that no electric cars nor hazardous cargo is on board, no fuel spills have been detected, and the stability of the ship was not been compromised.The Grimaldi Group statement said the cause of the fire isn't known, but it will investigate in cooperation with authorities.Video below: See drone and thermal images of the blaze aboard the ship captured by the Elizabeth Police Department in New Jersey"Our hearts are heavy today as we mourn the loss of two Newark firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty," Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement.Newark Mayor Ras Baraka called it "tragic for all firefighters who know what it means to go in a burning structure in a danger that you are going to have to experience when you do so."Shipboard firefighting is a unique skill and Newark firefighters don't commonly face this kind of fire, Jackson said. He said they trained on ships before, but it was a vessel that had compartments and living quarters, not a ship like this."Although this is a difficult fire, a different type of fire, they're still willing to put themselves on the line for others," the chief said. "This is a unique service that we're in. We love what we do. We love each other and we protect each other. It's unfortunate when we have loss. This is a tragedy. This is something that I as a chief never want to face, but we have to be there, we have to be strong for the family at this point."The National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday that it will investigate the ship fire, but the Coast Guard is taking the lead, said Jennifer Gabris, an NTSB spokeswoman. The NTSB has authority to investigate maritime accidents.

NEWARK, N.J. (Video above from News 12 New Jersey LLC via CNN) —

Two firefighters were killed and five others injured battling a blaze that began deep inside a docked cargo ship carrying more than a thousand vehicles, officials said Thursday.

Responding firefighters found five to seven vehicles already on fire when they reached the 10th floor of the cargo ship at Port Newark around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday night. The blaze quickly extended to the 11th and 12th floors, and as firefighters were pushed back by the intense heat, two of them were lost, Newark Fire Chief Rufus Jackson said at a news conference at the port, where the fire was still burning early Thursday,

Firefighters weren't initially able to find their colleagues. Outside rescue companies from around the state were called in. Augusto "Augie" Acabou, 45, and Wayne "Bear" Brooks Jr., 49, were found and removed from the structure but unfortunately they lost their lives, Jackson said.

In the video player above: City lost "two of our best ... two of our bravest," mayor says of firefighters who died.

Three Newark firefighters and two Elizabeth firefighters were treated for injuries including smoke inhalation. All were expected to recover, but their names and details on their conditions were not disclosed.

Marine traffic trackers show the Italian-flagged Grande Costa d'Avorio, which was built in 2011, arrived from the Port of Baltimore several days earlier. Grimaldi Deep Sea said the fire broke out on the ship's 10th deck as its 28 crew members and local stevedores were completing the loading of more than 1,200 new and used cars, vans and trucks bound for West Africa.

Newark Department of Public Safety via AP

The company's statement said the crew immediately activated on-board fire suppression procedures and the local firefighting service was alerted, triggering a prompt response that was crucial to containing and controlling the blaze. It also said that no electric cars nor hazardous cargo is on board, no fuel spills have been detected, and the stability of the ship was not been compromised.

The Grimaldi Group statement said the cause of the fire isn't known, but it will investigate in cooperation with authorities.

Video below: See drone and thermal images of the blaze aboard the ship captured by the Elizabeth Police Department in New Jersey

"Our hearts are heavy today as we mourn the loss of two Newark firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty," Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka called it "tragic for all firefighters who know what it means to go in a burning structure in a danger that you are going to have to experience when you do so."

WABC-TV via AP

Shipboard firefighting is a unique skill and Newark firefighters don't commonly face this kind of fire, Jackson said. He said they trained on ships before, but it was a vessel that had compartments and living quarters, not a ship like this.

"Although this is a difficult fire, a different type of fire, they're still willing to put themselves on the line for others," the chief said. "This is a unique service that we're in. We love what we do. We love each other and we protect each other. It's unfortunate when we have loss. This is a tragedy. This is something that I as a chief never want to face, but we have to be there, we have to be strong for the family at this point."

The National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday that it will investigate the ship fire, but the Coast Guard is taking the lead, said Jennifer Gabris, an NTSB spokeswoman. The NTSB has authority to investigate maritime accidents.

An abandoned cargo ship packed with cars is adrift in the Atlantic Ocean after a rapidly-spreading fire on board forced the crew to escape.The 656 foot-long Felicity Ace roll-on/roll-off car-carrying ship caught fire in the North Atlantic on Wednesday as it carried cargo, including Porsches and Volkswagens, from Emden, Germany to Davisville, Rhode Island. At the time of the fire's outbreak, the ship was sailing 90 nautical miles southwest of Portugal's Azores, according to a statement on Wednesday by the Portuguese Navy.Related video above: Cargo ship engulfed in flames off US coast back in May 2021After the fire broke out in the cargo hold, it spread and forced all 22 crew members to abandon ship. According to another statement by the Portuguese Navy, the crew was safely picked up and taken to a local hotel, with the rescue coordinated by the Ponta Delgada Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center. There has been no noticeable source of pollution from the fire, according to the statement.The ship's owners have arranged for a tow as it continues to burn. Registered to Panama, the Felicity Alice is operated by Japanese shipping line Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL). MOL has not responded to a request for comment.Porsche confirmed to CNN Business that a number of its cars were among the cargo and that customers with cars on board the burning ship are being contacted by their dealers."While it remains too early to confirm what occurred and next steps, we are -- along with our colleagues at Porsche AG -- supporting our customers and our dealers as best we can to find solutions," said Angus Fitton, Vice President of PR at Porsche Cars North America. "We are in contact with the shipping company and the details of the cars on board are now known."Expectant Porsche owners with cars on board like journalist and host Matt Farah, who said he had a 2022 Porsche Boxster Spyder awaiting delivery, have already started receiving word from dealerships about the status of their vehicles."The dealer confirmed that my car, along with at least a dozen other vehicles they were expecting, is on that boat," Farah said. "They had no further information for me beyond confirming my car was on the boat, and said that as soon as Porsche Cars North America has a plan of any kind with how to proceed, that they would share the plans with me."Volkswagen also has customers awaiting vehicles on the burning cargo ship. "We are aware of an incident involving a third-party cargo ship transporting Volkswagen Group vehicles across the Atlantic. The vessel was on its way to North America," said Dirk Ameer, a Volkswagen spokesperson. "At this time, we are not aware of any injuries. We are in contact with the shipping company to get more information about the incident."The Felicity Ace can carry over 17,000 metric tons of cargo, according to the Associated Press, with possibly thousands of cars on board. The Portuguese Navy said that as of Thursday, the fire is ongoing, and an ocean patrol vessel remains on site to monitor the abandoned ship.