The United States Coast Guard held a news conference on Tuesday ahead of the start of its public hearing about the deadly Newark cargo ship fire.

That fire claimed the lives of two Newark firefighters – Augusto Acabou and Wayne Brooks. Coast Guard Cmdr. Christian Barger is the lead investigating officer. He says that the Coast Guard will be looking to find the cause of the fire and the events that led to the firefighters’ deaths.

“The hearing will provide us the opportunity to continue our pursuit of facts through a more formal and public setting. Over the course of the next two weeks, we will elicit testimony from 13 witnesses, including the ship's crew members, shoreside cargo handlers and fire department personnel who were present during the incident,” Barger said.

The public hearing begins on Wednesday and will last until Jan. 18.

Barger says the Coast Guard will continue to investigate after the hearing has finished so that they can make recommendations to prevent future incidents.