ks-NYC-STATEN-ISLAND-BLAST // Paint vapors determined as cause of fatal Staten Island shipyard explosion

Leonard Greene, New York Daily News on May 27, 2026

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NEW YORK — Flammable paint vapors ignited at a Staten Island shipyard, causing the deadly fire and explosion that killed one person and injured more than 30 firefighters and first responders, FDNY officials announced Wednesday.

Investigators determined the explosion and two-alarm fire were accidental and caused by “the ignition of flammable vapors associated with industrial grade paint within the confined space,” FDNY officials said in a statement Wednesday.

A fire marshal and a firefighter injured in the massive fire and explosion remain hospitalized from critical injuries they suffered in the Friday blast at the dry dock in Mariners Harbor.

The FDNY says it received a report of workers trapped about 3:30 p.m. Friday, along with a fire in the back of the shipyard on Richmond Terrace near Andros Ave.

That was followed by a major explosion nearly an hour later, at 4:20 p.m.

Firefighters scrambled to reach workers trapped in the basement of a metal structure near the docks, which was on fire.

Xiaoyuan Li, 56, of Flushing, Queens, was killed and 36 people, mostly firefighters, were hurt when a fire sparked the massive explosion at May Ship Repair.

The victim, a husband and father of two, was a subcontractor who had worked with the company on multiple projects, according to the New York Times.

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