{"id":785754,"date":"2026-07-07T09:29:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T09:29:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/785754\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T09:29:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T09:29:20","slug":"whale-strikes-sinks-new-jersey-fireboat-giving-crew-seconds-to-abandon-ship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/785754\/","title":{"rendered":"Whale strikes, sinks New Jersey fireboat, giving crew seconds to abandon ship"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW JERSEY – The return from a routine regional security detail turned into a race for survival over the holiday weekend<\/a> when a surfacing whale hit and sank a Carteret Fire Department (CFD) vessel.<\/p>\n

The vessel suffered catastrophic damage and rapidly began taking on water, leaving firefighters aboard only seconds to escape.<\/p>\n

According to the Carteret Fire Department and EMS Division, the incident unfolded around 4:30 p.m. on July 4,\u00a0south of the Arthur Kill at the mouth of Raritan Bay.\u00a0Officials said a breaching whale<\/a> surfaced and “violently struck” beneath the stern of CFD Marine Unit 2.<\/p>\n

Officials highlighted that a nearby recreation boat<\/a> told authorities that they spotted a group of whales surfacing shortly before\u2014and right after\u2014the fireboat went down.<\/p>\n

Video: Massive Great White Shark Feeds On Dead Whale Off The Coast Of Rhode Island<\/a><\/p>\n

Along with the Perth Amboy<\/a> Fire Department Marine Unit and FMBA Local 58\/258, a nearby recreational jet ski operator and additional boater took action to help the firefighters aboard during the critical time.<\/p>\n

The photo below shows the severity of the incident, as only a small portion of the bow is seen peeking out of the water.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A Carteret Fire Department marine vessel suffered catastrophic damage when it was struck by a surfacing whale on July 4, sinking so rapidly that firefighters aboard had only seconds to abandon ship.<\/p>\n

(FOX Weather)<\/p>\n

Authorities noted that while the Carteret Fire Department Marine Unit regularly trains for diverse marine emergencies, “an event of this nature<\/a> is something no one anticipates.”<\/p>\n

There were no injuries reported, and the crew was able to safely return to their families, the department said, but added, “Understandably, it has left those involved shaken.”<\/p>\n

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Following the harrowing incident, CFD credited the crew’s proper use of life jackets for their survival. The department noted that because every member was wearing a required and fitted personal flotation device, they stayed safe until rescuers arrived.<\/p>\n

The department expressed its gratitude to everyone who assisted during the incident, as well as the numerous departments, officials, and communities that reached out to offer support.<\/p>\n

How To Watch Fox Weather<\/a><\/p>\n

“[Saturday’s] events serve as a powerful reminder that, no matter how routine a mission may seem, every emergency response carries risks\u2014and we are incredibly grateful that every member made it home safely,” CFD said.<\/p>\n

Officials are still investigating the accident and will release more information as more information becomes available.<\/p>\n

Original article source: Whale strikes, sinks New Jersey fireboat, giving crew seconds to abandon ship<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW JERSEY – The return from a routine regional security detail turned into a race for survival over…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":785755,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[277826,49,48,277825,215181,277827,177020,277828,66,323],"class_list":["post-785754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-breaching-whale","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-catastrophic-damage","tag-cfd","tag-cfd-marine-unit","tag-fire-department","tag-fireboat","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=785754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785754\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/785755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=785754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=785754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=785754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}