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.

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.

OREGON, Ohio — An Ohio oil refinery was shut down Wednesday after two people died in the massive fire on Tuesday.

A spokesperson for British Petroleum told the Associated Press that the fire occurred at its Husky Toledo Refinery in the city of Oregon, just outside Toledo.

According to the news outlet, the company said that the two workers were initially injured in the blaze but later succumbed to their injuries.

In a video provided to CNN, Ryan Rohm told the news outlet that he began noticing black smoke rise from the refinery around 7 p.m., adding an explosion also shook the ground and houses nearby.

During a Wednesday night speech on the House of Representatives floor, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur offered her condolences to the families of Ben and Max Morrissey, the two men who died in the fire.

"Madam Speaker, I rise today with deep sadness to pay tribute to two highly skilled U.S. steelworkers, brothers Ben and Max Morrissey, who tragically lost their lives at the British Petroleum refinery in my hometown," Kaptur said as she addressed lawmakers. "Yesterday, while on the job at the BP-Husky plant in Oregon, Ohio, their lives were cut short in a horrific explosion. Responsible citizens, husbands and fathers who performed America’s essential work that drives progress and our American way of life forward."

The company spokesperson said the fire was extinguished around 10:15 p.m. Tuesday and the refinery was "safely shut down," NBC News reported.

The cause of the fire has not been released, the Associated Press reported.

Nearly six months after a California family and their dog died of extreme heat exhaustion and dehydration while hiking, phone data was released on Thursday that shows a text message and several phone calls did not go through due to poor cellphone reception.

John Gerrish, his wife, Ellen Chung, their 1-year-old daughter, Miju, and their dog were walking in extreme heat in a remote area close to the Merced River in the Sierra National Forest last August before they died.

Jonathan Gerrish's phone showed the family took multiple photos throughout their hike from 7:44 to 10:29 a.m., according to the release. At 12:25 p.m, they took a screenshot of their location on the trail map.

A single text message at 11:56 a.m. saying, "Can you help us. On savage lundy trail heading back to Hites cove trail. No water or ver (over) heating with baby" did not go through due to not having cell service in the area, the release said.

Five calls were also found to have been attempted but were not successful due to the same reason. The first was at 12:09 p.m. and the last four were attempted within one minute of each other at 12:36 p.m.

They were found dead on Aug. 17 just 1.6 miles from their vehicle after a family friend reported them missing. In October, the cause of death for all three family members was determined to be hyperthermia and dehydration.

Temperatures ranged from 107 to 109 degrees Fahrenheit and their water container was empty, authorities said.

The details found on the phone support the findings of a heat-related incident, authorities said.

"The cellphone data results were the last thing both the family and detectives were waiting on. The extracted information confirms our initial findings. I am very proud of my team and our partner agencies for all the work they put in. Their dedication has allowed us to close this case and answer lingering questions the family had, bringing them a little peace," Mariposa County Sheriff Jeremy Briese said.

READING, Ohio —

Tailgate prep is a family affair in the Courtney household. It's a tradition that started when the oldest sibling, David Courtney, was a kid, when it was just him and his dad.

"Down at Riverfront, we would tailgate in the parking garage, just the two of us. Mom would make us whatever. We would eat it and go in and watch the game," David Courtney said.

Over the years the family has grown, and Bengal pride has been passed down to the next generations.

"Everything about the Bengals makes me think of him," said Kelsey Courtney, David Courtney's daughter.

Kelsey Courtney is referring to her grandfather, Duane Courtney. This is the first year without the patriarch of the family.

Duane Courtney died unexpectedly in his sleep April 30. He was 68 years old.

"It was the night of the draft, and he passed sometime before the next morning," David Courtney said.

"He was watching the draft and was very excited when he saw we got (Ja'Marr) Chase. That was one of his last texts to my niece," said Christen Courtney, Duane Courtney's daughter.

Knowing his love for the Bengals and the optimism he had for this season, Duane's kids decided to keep his season tickets and save his seat for him.

"We salute him, and he's always in our thoughts," David Courtney said.

Tomorrow will be no different as they remember how Duane Courtney would love to sit and take it all in.

"And he'd like to drink his beer during the games. We couldn't keep up with him," Christen Courtney said

So, of course, there will be a toast in his honor as he's remembered as a funny family man, a die-hard Bengals fan whose presence will be felt tomorrow.

"We definitely feel him, and we know he'll be there tomorrow, and hopefully help us bring home a win," Christen Courtney said.

HAMILTON, Ohio —

A nurse from Hamilton said she and her family will be spending their first Christmas without her husband.

He died from COVID-19 at just 37 years old, earlier this year.

Christina Jewett said her late husband, Paul Jewett, 37, was unable to get a vaccine before he got sick.

It has been an incredibly hard year for the family.

Last month, they shared a Thanksgiving unlike any before and now, Christmas won't be the way they imagined.

"It's weird to picture from the beginning of the year to now. You picture you're going to have your family together for holidays, you know, dad's going to be there," Christina Jewett said.

But this Christmas, Jewett's life is very different.

We talked with her earlier this year after her husband died from COVID-19 in April.

She said the father of five had no underlying conditions.

"I didn't imagine I'd be wrapping the presents alone or any of that, you know, having to get the tree together was really hard because it was one of our traditions," she said.

Jewett is making sure she shows her sons pictures of their dad as she pulls together the strength to do it all.

She also welcomed their new baby boy to the world this year after Paul died.

"Benny's great. He's 8 months old now. He just started crawling and standing all at the same time, but he's been absolutely the light of everything," she said.

Jewett is also a nurse and sometimes shares her husband's story when patients have doubts about the vaccines.

"They weren't doing under 40 when he got sick and he was only 37, so, even if he wanted to, he couldn't have got it at the time," she said.

Now, with record-breaking case numbers, she knows others may be dealing with the same loss.

She hopes her husband's story can inspire someone to get vaccinated and keep a family intact.

"The biggest lesson I've had to learn this year is that life is very fragile and very short," she said.

Jewett said since her husband's death, she has made friends online in social media groups that help people with loss and grief.

Those friendships have transcended the internet.

She said at least one of those new friends will be spending Christmas with her family this year.

Jewett said it's important that people never stop praying in these situations.

She also said it's good to lean into your support system when dealing with loss.

An EMT who performed CPR on a fellow passenger who had a medical emergency onboard earlier this month, and later died from COVID-19, says he was just notified by his health department about his possible exposure - 10 days after the flight.

Tony Adalpa was on the Dec. 14 United flight from Orlando to Los Angeles, when a man became ill. Adalpa, trained as an EMT, began helping the man, identified as 69-year-old Isais Hernandez, along with flight attendants and others onboard. Adalpa says he performed CPR for about 45 minutes, and stayed near Hernandez as the plane made an early landing in New Orleans and Hernandez was taken to the hospital.

Hernandez died, and the coroner reported the cause of death was COVID-19.

United at the time believed he had suffered cardiac arrest and continued on to LAX. Adalpa took to Twitter to talk about the incident, and that he was feeling symptoms of COVID-19 about a week after the flight. He has reportedly taken multiple COVID-19 tests, with negative results.

On Sunday, December 27, Adalpa tweeted he was contacted by his health department.

“The whole world knows I was exposed and it took the County 10 days to notify me. I haven't heard anything from @CDCgov ... there's still people form the flight that haven't heard from anyone at all!(sic)” Adalpa tweeted.

His tweet shared an animated video made by the CDC that talked about contact tracing.

Other passengers on the Dec. 14 flight are being contacted by Los Angeles County health officials, according to KABC in Los Angeles.

United Airlines said they were working with the CDC on providing information about the flight and passengers, “so they can work with local health officials to conduct outreach to any customer the CDC believes may be at risk for possible exposure or infection," a representative for the airline told CBS LA earlier this month.

United says Hernandez had filled out a questionnaire before boarding the flight, which asked about testing positive for COVID-19 and having symptoms. It is now apparent the man "wrongly acknowledged this requirement,” the airline said.

MASON, Ohio —

Whether singing to a crowd or jammin' at home, 9-year-old JJ Day was an entertainer.

"Whenever we had our friends over, he would always play along with us. He would always be making poses for the camera. He would always make us laugh," his sister, Morgan Day said.

JJ's older sister, Madison said, "Potty humor, that was his favorite. He made jokes constantly ... He told me a few of his new year's resolutions, and one was to have more friends."

The Mason third-grader, who wanted to be Mickey Mouse at Disney World one day, knew how to dominate a room.

"His personality, it was explosive. It was so big," said his mother, Kristen Day. "He was our source of huge laughter."

JJ's presence was always filled with love.

"He made sure that each of us knew that he loved us, and we loved him," Kristen Day said.

JJ Day unexpectedly last Saturday. While his family still doesn't have answers about how he died, their focus is on how he lived. The term "Love like JJ" has spread through the community and on social media.

"I mean, he's everywhere," said his father, Jon Day. "He would want to be everywhere. He would want to be in everyone's face."

Stories of JJ can fill a room with laughter, but words can't describe the pain in his family's hearts.

The Days said they've found strength in their community and every person who has reached out to say they will try and love like JJ.

"We hear you. We see you and we feel you," Jon Day said.

"We feel the prayers. We feel the support. We absolutely feel it. I know my girls feel it too," Kristen Day said.

The Days said they believe JJ was destined to change the world, and now, they will help him do so.

A foundation, https://www.lovelikejj.org/ has been set up in his name.

Services for JJ will be held Saturday. More information can be found here:

https://www.muellerfunerals.com/obituary/jonathan-day?fbclid=IwAR3O4pWvceUTktN_0LfqJCr09vS9WeibptxuOQuief0fb4DtfrQdfWyKdbw

WASHINGTON - The mayor of Washington D.C. declared Wednesday a day of remembrance as the nation’s capital surpassed 1,000 deaths from the coronavirus, including the mayor’s sister.

Following Mayor Muriel Bowser’s declaration, she shared that her sister was among those who lost their lives this week.

In a thread on Twitter, Bowser said her sister Mercia had been treated for COVID-19-related pneumonia, and died Wednesday morning from complications related to COVID-19.

“Mercia was loved immensely and will be missed greatly, as she joins the legion of angels who have gone home too soon due to the pandemic,” Mayor Bowser tweeted.

“I ask that you continue to keep those who have been lost or impacted by the pandemic and those who are working so hard to protect us from it in your thoughts/prayers,” she added.

Wednesday night, houses of worship across the D.C. area will honor the lives lost to COVID-19.

April the Giraffe, whose journey in motherhood was shared with the world, has died.She had worsening arthritis and died at 20 by euthanasia, Animal Adventure Park said Friday."We grieve with her many fans, near and far, as we say goodbye to the giraffe that can be credited with making a foothold for giraffe and giraffe conservation awareness in the 21st century," the animal park said.April became a viral hit in 2017 with a livestream of her pregnancy and delivery of Tajiri.She delivered five calves before a breeding program with her ended."At the celebrated age of 20 years old, April was in her golden years, with the captive management life expectancy averaging 20-25 years, far greater than the average lifespan of 10-15 years in the wild," the animal park said.Her ashes will be returned to Animal Adventure Park."While we knew this day would eventually come, our hearts are hurting," said Jordan Patch, owner of Animal Adventure Park. "The loss of an animal as loved as her will be felt in our community, around the country and across the world."