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Smouldering fire in cargo hold

Smoldering coal ignited into a fire on the "King Hakan" in Long Island Sound off the Fairfield shoreline early Aug 26, 2011. The Coast Guard and the Fairfield Fire Department remain on the scene with crews from PSEG, Fairfield police and the Fire Department of New York as of 9:45 a.m. The "King Hakan" - bound for the PSEG Bridgeport Harbor Generating Station - called for help around 1:05 a.m., and the Coast Guard was the first to respond. Shortly after the Coast Guard cutter arrived the smoldering coal caught fire and the Fairfield Fire Department was called to the ship. The vessel was moored about 4 miles from the Fairfield shoreline. Firefighters with gear and equipment were taken to the ship by the Fairfield police boat to search for crew members and control the fire, Moderate smoke was visible from the cargo hold of the ship. All crew members were accounted for and the fire was contained to a single hold by closing all doors to isolate the fire compartment. The FDNY Special Operations and Marine division was called to the scene to provide support along with the Coast Guard cutter. With Hurricane Irene approaching, the fire department decided to extinguish the coal and remove it from the ship, a process that remains underway and could taken until noon. Representatives of the ship's owner were on the scene and working with the emergency responders The cargo was from Indonesia