Two firefighters killed battling cargo ship blaze at New Jersey port

Fire began inside ship carrying 5,000 cars in Newark, fire chief said, and spread to three floors

Two firefighters were killed battling a blaze that began when cars caught fire deep inside a cargo ship carrying 5,000 cars at a New Jersey port Wednesday night, Newark's fire chief said.

Firefighters responded to a report of a fire in a cargo ship at Port Newark around 9:30pm and found the fire involving five to seven vehicles on the 10th floor. The blaze quickly extended to the 11th and 12th floors, fire chief Rufus Jackson said at a news conference. Firefighters tried to extinguish the fire, but they were pushed back by the intense heat and two firefighters were lost, he said.