JACKSONVILLE, Fla — All eight firefighters who were injured from an explosion caused by a ship fire in Blount Island last week are out of the hospital and recovering at home, the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department announced Wednesday.
"They have a long haul ahead of them, but we are so thankful for the support and prayers," JFRD said in a tweet.
Last Thursday around 4 p.m., a vehicle-carrying vessel from Norway was leaving JaxPort with used vehicles when it caught on fire for unknown reasons. Roughly 150 JFRD firefighters responded. Shortly before 7 p.m., an explosion occurred onboard and sent eight firefighters to the hospital.
The next day, all but three firefighters were released from the hospital. Two of those firefighters were admitted to Shand's burn unit in Gainesville where they underwent surgery and skin grafts, Fire Chief Keith Powers said last week.
On Monday, one firefighter remained in the hospital's burn unit.
In total, nine firefighters were injured from the fire -- one of them from heat exhaustion.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Coast Guard announced that the fire was contained on the ship's 10th and 11th decks. Crews have been spraying up to 25,000 gallons of water per minute onto the ship to help keep it cool. Their goal is to maintain the integrity of the ship so that it doesn't sink and cause environmental problems.