Johnny Beernaert News Today

The U.S. Coast Guard determined that the FDNY boat involved in a 2022 crash that claimed a Belgian firefighter was at fault.

The reckless operation of an FDNY fireboat on a pleasure cruise to the Statue of Liberty at “unsafe speed” caused the death of a visiting Belgian firefighter, according to the findings of a Coast Guard probe obtained by The Post.

The reckless operation of an FDNY fireboat on a pleasure cruise to the Statue of Liberty at “unsafe speed” caused the death of a visiting Belgian firefighter, according to the findings of a Coast Guard probe obtained by The Post.

Thomas J. Waller who piloted an FDNY fireboat involved in a fatal accident was removed from his duties in a marine unit pending the results of a Coast Guard investigation, The Post has learned.

Chief Richard Blatus was FDNY’s acting chief of operations at the time of the June 17, 2022 incident that took the life of Johnny Beernaert, a Belgian firefighter aboard the fireboat Marine 1 Bravo on a tour in the East River.

Edward Mattiace, the captain of the 36-foot private vessel dubbed, The Honcho, is asking a federal judge to clear him of any liability in the crash that caused the death of Sgt. Johnny Beernaert, who was an unauthorized guest from Belgium aboard the Fire Department’s Marine 1 Bravo.

The codified rules come as the estate of Sgt. Johnny Beernaert prepares to sue the city over the fatal June 17 East River crash.

The three FDNY officers — a lieutenant, a captain and a battalion chief — were pulled from their regular duties and assigned to administrative jobs within the Marine Unit as the department and the Coast Guard continue to investigate the June 17 East River crash.

“On behalf of the Consulate General of Belgium in New York, we express our deepest condolences to the family, the friends and the colleagues of Sergeant Johnny Beernaert,” the consulate wrote on Facebook.