Boat On Fire On River Thread (BOFART)

[Northern Spy]

30-40' boat on fire this morning off of Harwood Island, BC. BC Ferries rescue boat and a nearby fishboat rescued the one person on board. Two propane tanks had exploded, with one simmering so they backed off.

There is just a smoky smudge on the water with Coast Guard attending. Can't see any hull left.

Not sure if it is a local or boat in transit.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

My fear of propane...

 

[Conrad]

Ouch. Hopefully nobody was injured.

 

[psneeld]

The propane didn't necessarily start it and depending where the tanks were stowed...once the fire got to them...the rest of the boat may have been toast anyhow.

Sure it's stuff to be careful with...but I consider a boat with propane that the owner understands the system and safety issues to be as safe as jumping on an airliner...how many give second though to that????

 

[Conrad]

The propane didn't necessarily start it and depending where the tanks were stowed...once the fire got to them...the rest of the boat may have been toast anyhow.

Sure it's stuff to be careful with...but I consider a boat with propane that the owner understands the system and safety issues to be as safe as jumping on an airliner...how many give second though to that????

Agree. The dangers are so well known and respected that usually the installed systems are well designed and closely monitored by wary owners.

 

[Northern Spy]

Yup. I'll wait until I hear the whole story.

With the wind shift I can see what is left of the hull, still burning. That's 3 hours now. About 1' of freeboard left. Blue hull, white boot stripe, and red bottom paint. Guess that is why I got a few calls this morning. Same color scheme as my boat... and Conrad's.

Check your boat yet today Conrad? I did.

 

[psneeld]

Yup. I'll wait until I hear the whole story.

With the wind shift I can see what is left of the hull, still burning. That's 3 hours now. About 1' of freeboard left. Blue hull, white boot stripe, and red bottom paint. Guess that is why I got a few calls this morning. Same color scheme as my boat... and Conrad's.

Check your boat yet today Conrad? I did.

I always joked with the new co-pilots that were with me when responding to boat fires...

I would tell them there's usually only 2 things that put out a fully engulfed fiberglass boat...the Atlantic and the Pacific....

 

[Conrad]

I called the boatyard and Blue Sky is fine! But another vessel at the marina didn't fare so well. The Andron is a total loss, and other vessels nearby were damaged either from the heat or collision damage in the frantic efforts to move them away. This happened Friday night.

The Andron appears to be a Beebe type design and in it's previous life had travelled the world. The current owner had put huge amounts of time, effort, and money into it over the last couple years, including a complete external paint job about a year ago. In fact he was just wrapping up his prep for a trip north which was to start tomorrow. What a loss.

Cause is yet to be determined as it is still too hot to get aboard.

Boat bursts into flames at marina - Campbell River Mirror

 

[Conrad]

More coverage of the Andron fire with a number of photos.

Boat explodes in Campbell River harbour - Local - Campbell River Courier Islander

 

[loafs and fishes]

Sad.

 

[Rambler]

Are y'all talking about two different boat fires? One looks to be in the middle of a bay, the other dockside.

 

[Conrad]

Are y'all talking about two different boat fires? One looks to be in the middle of a bay, the other dockside.

Yes, and I apologize for inadvertently hijacking Northern Spy's thread on the boat fire out in Georgia Strait off of Harwood Island.

The Andron fire took place at the dock in Campbell River. If a moderator could separate this into two threads it would make more sense, and again I apologize for the confusion.

 

[Tad Roberts]

Two fires.....25 miles and 2-3 days apart...still scary. The Andron was a Skookum 53, fiberglass Monk design. I noticed her stern (the name) on Friday afternoon, I was in the north harbour at CR on another project. Too close, I left a few hours before the fire.

 

[Conrad]

Two fires.....25 miles and 2-3 days apart...still scary. The Andron was a Skookum 53, fiberglass Monk design. I noticed her stern (the name) on Friday afternoon, I was in the north harbour at CR on another project. Too close, I left a few hours before the fire.

A Skookum! I recall being fascinated by another Skookum 53, called Raven (or Raven something) a number of years ago. Vaguely similar lines but quite different I thought.

There was another boat fire in Campbell River just recently as well. A 47' Bayliner that caught fire at the dock which was attributed to the boatside shorepower connection.

Maybe I should move Blue Sky.

 

[Northern Spy]

Heard it may have been a prawn boat.

 

[Northern Spy]

If a moderator could separate this into two threads it would make more sense, and again I apologize for the confusion.

No need. It is now the Boat on Fire at "River" thread.

BOFART.

 

[Conrad]

BOFART.

Perfect!!!

 

[gwkiwi]

We heard USCG reports of a boat on fire in the Chesapeake Sunday apparently the boat was sinking by the time help arrived just north of the Bay bridge, but thanks to a local boater who rescued all 4 on board no one was hurt.

The USCG lady dispatcher in Baltimore was struggling with managing the situation on the radio and it reiterated how important it is to be self prepared for all emergencies on board.

Fire can be bad especially on a gas boat but there are many practices which can prevent issues.

Takes Two
Currently in Annapolis

 

[Sisuitl]

Heard it may have been a prawn boat.

Heartbreaking. There's some beautiful shellfish boats in the South Harbour that put a lot of yachts to shame. Can't remember if any of them had a blue hull.

 

[Northern Spy]

Heartbreaking. There's some beautiful shellfish boats in the South Harbour that put a lot of yachts to shame. Can't remember if any of them had a blue hull.

Turns out it was a local boat from Texada.

http://www.prpeak.com/articles/2014/06/05/news/doc538cffc1da099117812287.txt

 

[Sisuitl]

Thanks. Don't remember the boat.

Another data point for TSB's incident database, I guess. At least he was insured.

 

[Northern Spy]

Thanks. Don't remember the boat.

Another data point for TSB's incident database, I guess. At least he was insured.

Neither do I. I'll go though some old photos from Marble Bay to see if I can spot it. It was very very blue.

 

[Giggitoni]

How deep is the water at that location?

 

[Conrad]

Depending where exactly it was, it could be 300-500 feet.

 

[Northern Spy]

Depending where exactly it was, it could be 300-500 feet.

Yeah that's about right where it caught fire. Probably sank in about 1,000 ft as it drifted south for hours.

 

[Conrad]

Andron sitting in a cradle at Ocean Pacific Yard in Campbell River. No final disposition yet although apparently she is a total loss. Also cause is uncertain; there was work being done on the teak caprails and a pile of oily rags was nearby, but no final word.

 

[Northern Spy]

That was a handsome boat.