JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A current Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department battalion chief spoke out about safety concerns at the department.
Battalion Chief Chip Drysdale said he’s speaking out after working a cargo ship fire at Blount Island on June 4, 2020.
Video from the site of the Höegh Xiamen fire shows firefighters are the scene and suddenly an explosion occurs and debris begins flying in the sky.
It was an explosion that alarmed everyone, as firefighters were still inside the ship.
Drysdale was at that fire and one of the first to arrive.
Before the explosion, Drysdale said he and other firefighters confirmed the ship’s crew was off the ship. Then, firefighters assessed what was happening onboard and did at least three reconnaissance assessments.
“...the fire intensely grew very very rapidly and once it grew rapidly, we couldn’t reach the fire I pulled everybody out of the ship,” Drysdale said.
He and his crew recovered other firefighters were sent inside and two different explosions occurred.
Three months after the ship fire, 11 Jacksonville firefighters filed a lawsuit over their injuries against the four companies involved. A multi-million dollar settlement was reached in 2024.
The ship fire is a rare occurrence in Jacksonville, according to Drysdale, but he said in his 40 years of experience, his department needs more training.
“Our training division has not trained us on shipboard firefighting, wildland fire fighting, train derailments, even on basic activities like fighting fires in structures,” Drysdale said. “This is a problem.”
After the ship fire, a JFRD after-action report recommended developing a “multi-year plan to train all firefighters to the Shipboard Firefighter 1 and 2 Level” among other recommendations.
I asked the city if that recommendation had been adopted.
The city said, “...we cannot comment further due to the ongoing litigation.”
The city has an ongoing case, separate from the lawsuit.
“I am very concerned. I love these men and women and this fire department, you’re taking a bunch of firefighters and you are putting them in jeopardy.” Drysdale said.
Drysdale said he hopes that someone will listen and take action by adding more training for firefighters.
“There are 1900 firefighters in the city of Jacksonville and we are all family we live together, we work together, we cook together, we go through a lot of stuff together, we see a lot of tragedy together. And after seeing my family members horribly hurt in that fire, not only was I upset knowing that we weren’t prepared for that fire, that mistakes were made that should not have been made,” Drysdale said.
He said he is driven by the truth and nothing else.