Three months after one of the biggest ship fires in decades in Jacksonville, 10 firefighters injured in a related blast are suing for their injuries.
The law firm Pajcic & Pajcic filed a lawsuit on behalf of 10 Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department employees on Tuesday, 90 days after an explosion that severely injured some of them. Some had to be treated at the burn unit in Gainesville, and three first responders remain off the job due to their injuries.
A 15-floor cargo ship caught fire on June 4 in the St. Johns River while at Blount Island. The cause is still under investigation, but the plaintiffs’ attorney, Curry Pajcic, said the ship had just been loaded with 2,400 junked cars that were to be transported to western Africa.
At 6:45 p.m. June 4, while fighting the fire from the inside, at least 10 firefighters were in the stairwell when there was an explosion on the eighth deck.