Post by jerryk on Oct 25, 2022 10:58:31 GMT -5
Sorry in advance for the length of this thread but its important so please read it.
We went on a nice cruise on a friend's 60' motoryacht this past Sunday (10/23/2022) afternoon / evening in and around downtown Fort Lauderdale. Due to a fixed bridge clearance issue near the Dania Beach marina entrance we ended up tying off in the Intracoastal Waterway near our marina at around 12 midnight, waiting for tide to drop a bit more and also waiting for the half hour A1A drawbridge opening to get back home to our slip. While waiting, we noticed a string of about 10 fire trucks, police, and ambulances headed across the drawbridge to the outer island, and in that area there was only one place they could be heading--our marina. A phone call later we found out that a boat (Shamrock, a forty-something cabin cruiser) right next to one owned by one of our passengers was on fire, so we quickly left by foot towards the marina. Sorry, I left in a hurry and didn't grab my phone off the charger before we left. The fire was mostly out by the time we got there and due to it being actively worked by the fire dept. yet I could not/did not want to get too close, but did hear that an unresponsive man was pulled out of the boat that was on fire. The guy who was with us and had his boat next to the boat on fire did go check on his boat and confirmed that it was not affected, but he was pretty upset by the scene and hearing that a guy he knew well had likely perished in the fire. We later learned that the man did indeed die.
The fire was luckily contained to just one boat, and the fire was extinguished fairly quickly, thanks in part to boat neighbors who quickly got hoses on it before the fire dept. even got there. The fire started in the galley due to an electrical issue, and quickly the ceiling liner and fiberglass structures of the boat were involved. The man who died had been sleeping in the front cabin, and the dense deadly black smoke is likely what caused his death. Once again I was reminded how quickly a plastic boat can catch on fire and how hot and smoky they burn. The stench was still putrid as we looked at the remnants of the boat on Monday morning.
Lessons to all of us who boat: 1) Do everything you can to prevent a fire aboard. 2) Pitch in to do what you can if you see anything, on the water or on the dock. 3) A fire alarm/smoke detector wasn't heard on the boat--I don't know if it had one or not, but make sure you have one if you have an interior space--that also goes for carbon monoxide detectors as well. 4) The night of the fire someone grabbed a dock fire hose [Break glass in case of fire] and ran it as far as they could up the finger pier but it wasn't long enough to reach the end slip and the burning boat. In the confusion apparently nobody saw or knew that there was another dock fire hose halfway up the finger pier which would have reached the fire, and the next morning it was still in the unopened dockside box. Luckily other hoses were used from nearby boat owners but the larger volume hose from the fire fighting box on the dock might have been more helpful. Be aware of your resources and observe that safety gear around you that is always too easy to be out of sight out of mind, both on your boat and on the dock.
We went on a nice cruise on a friend's 60' motoryacht this past Sunday (10/23/2022) afternoon / evening in and around downtown Fort Lauderdale. Due to a fixed bridge clearance issue near the Dania Beach marina entrance we ended up tying off in the Intracoastal Waterway near our marina at around 12 midnight, waiting for tide to drop a bit more and also waiting for the half hour A1A drawbridge opening to get back home to our slip. While waiting, we noticed a string of about 10 fire trucks, police, and ambulances headed across the drawbridge to the outer island, and in that area there was only one place they could be heading--our marina. A phone call later we found out that a boat (Shamrock, a forty-something cabin cruiser) right next to one owned by one of our passengers was on fire, so we quickly left by foot towards the marina. Sorry, I left in a hurry and didn't grab my phone off the charger before we left. The fire was mostly out by the time we got there and due to it being actively worked by the fire dept. yet I could not/did not want to get too close, but did hear that an unresponsive man was pulled out of the boat that was on fire. The guy who was with us and had his boat next to the boat on fire did go check on his boat and confirmed that it was not affected, but he was pretty upset by the scene and hearing that a guy he knew well had likely perished in the fire. We later learned that the man did indeed die.
The fire was luckily contained to just one boat, and the fire was extinguished fairly quickly, thanks in part to boat neighbors who quickly got hoses on it before the fire dept. even got there. The fire started in the galley due to an electrical issue, and quickly the ceiling liner and fiberglass structures of the boat were involved. The man who died had been sleeping in the front cabin, and the dense deadly black smoke is likely what caused his death. Once again I was reminded how quickly a plastic boat can catch on fire and how hot and smoky they burn. The stench was still putrid as we looked at the remnants of the boat on Monday morning.
Lessons to all of us who boat: 1) Do everything you can to prevent a fire aboard. 2) Pitch in to do what you can if you see anything, on the water or on the dock. 3) A fire alarm/smoke detector wasn't heard on the boat--I don't know if it had one or not, but make sure you have one if you have an interior space--that also goes for carbon monoxide detectors as well. 4) The night of the fire someone grabbed a dock fire hose [Break glass in case of fire] and ran it as far as they could up the finger pier but it wasn't long enough to reach the end slip and the burning boat. In the confusion apparently nobody saw or knew that there was another dock fire hose halfway up the finger pier which would have reached the fire, and the next morning it was still in the unopened dockside box. Luckily other hoses were used from nearby boat owners but the larger volume hose from the fire fighting box on the dock might have been more helpful. Be aware of your resources and observe that safety gear around you that is always too easy to be out of sight out of mind, both on your boat and on the dock.