Portland Fire

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We are on the boat getting her ready to head North and this fire happened last night. We stood at the end of our Dock and watched part of it, then walked up to see how big it was.

A real shame for the boat owners who use this facility, a total loss!
 
Thanks Al.......From what I understand it started last night at 10 pm and is still going this morning. Fire boats had to pump water to the trucks as the hydrants could supply enough water.
 
10 years ago almost to the day I was in Portland looking at boats when a boathouse fire erupted at a marina. 15 vessels went up in flames. Sad, very sad.
 
Those are both horrible. The Portland fire with just the sheer number of boats. The Virginia fire, the number of boats was certainly sizable but far worse was the loss of life.

I wonder if Sundance had a sprinkler system. Doubt it. These could certainly bring the issue of covered buildings without sprinklers for keeping boats to the forefront again in many areas.

Was this the dry storage unit at Sundance? I see on their web page it holds 400 boats and the news just talks about 100. Edited update: I see the second article says 350 boats.

Certainly a sad day in the boating world.
 
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Update, 17 hours and the fires are still not out! Long day for fire crews.
 
Crusty Chief said:
Update, 17 hours and the fires are still not out! Long day for fire crews.
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The problem is the fire is inside and they can't get inside. So, they're having to depend on the collapse of sections that will allow soaking from above. Still that leaves burning boats that are covered with debris and they can't get to. This is just absolutely one of the most difficult fires imaginable. Almost reminds me of a paper or box manufacturer having a warehouse fire. Seems I recall hearing or reading about one once that was $56 million damage. On this one I'd guess you're talking at a minimum $10 million damage and as much as $20 million. And how many different insurers? Then those not insured. Investigation. Litigation.

I was sad after reading of this fire, but then the Virginia fire hit harder.
 
May the people that lost there lives rest in peace.

The pictures, the scope of this event just gives me a butt pucker, heart palpitations.

Being trapped by the toxic fumes on a covered dock just scares the. Out of me

Can you run fast enough, too it or away.
 
OFB said:
Being trapped by the toxic fumes on a covered dock just scares the. Out of me

.
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Any fire death you hope that it was quick, but often it isn't. Perhaps if the smoke got them before the fire. It's a horrible thing to think about.
 
Chief - I'm on my boat in Jentzen Marina this the first of it I've heard!! I was at the grand kids t'll 2100, up this morning @0345 (working on new panel). What a shame! I'll saddle up & go Hidden Bay Cafe where I get all my local news. TF HOT LINE works great also.
 
Always amazed in fires that large, how they can ever determine the cause.

Ted
 
O C Diver said:
Always amazed in fires that large, how they can ever determine the cause.

Ted
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They can't always but generally there's a hot spot they can identify and they can detect arson type fuel fires vs. electrical fires. I'd say on this one the odds are a little worse than most though. Maybe 70-80% they'll form an opinion. Maybe higher with the insurance involvement.
 
At dinner tonight a friend mentioned 2 marina fires in South jersey this past weekend.

8 boats lost in one fire and 2 in another. Both near my summer slip. Wonder if I know the boats. Not many in my old tow area that I don't.
 
Blessed are uncovered, cement docks with substantial boat separation.

 
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What a terrible event for everyone involved. I was just at Sundance two weeks ago while in Portland. I make it a point to drop in and say hello to Nick when time allows. We nearly purchased his 42 LRC while boat hunting and moored at Sundance while bringing our boat up the Columbia from Poulsbo. Nice folks & nice facility.
Thankfully there was no loss of life.
 
Ted-I have a friend here in Seattle who is a forensic arson investigator, retired from the Seattle FD, he now works for a firm that does insurance investigations. I have talked to him about it one time because I had the same thought as you. How the hell can you figure anything out? It is pretty amazing what they can find. He showed me one huge warehouse fire here several years ago that killed 3 firefighters. Looking at the pics, it was just a massive sodden mess where the building had collapsed from the fire and from about 12 hours straight of water being pumped on it by about 20 firetrucks. Yet they were able to eventually determine where it started, how (arson by a disgruntled employee!), what accelerants were used. All that was used to convict two people of arson and manslaughter. A lot of close observation and a lot of science involved!
 
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The only additional information I've seen is just that the fire hydrants were not able to supply the water needed. Doubt it would have made any difference, but could be a concern for others in the area.
 
THD said:
Ted-I have a friend here in Seattle who is a forensic arson investigator, retired from the Seattle FD, he now works for a firm that does insurance investigations. I have talked to him about it one time because I had the same thought as you. How the hell can you figure anything out? It is pretty amazing what they can find. He showed me one huge warehouse fire here several years ago that killed 3 firefighters. Looking at the pics, it was just a massive sodden mess where the building had collapsed from the fire and from about 12 hours straight of water being pumped on it by about 20 firetrucks. Yet they were able to eventually determine where it started, how (arson by a disgruntled employee!), what accelerants were used. All that was used to convict two people of arson and manslaughter. A lot of close observation and a lot of science involved!
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Thanks, still amazing to me. Understand conceptually what an arson investigator does and what they look for. It's just hard to imagine that they can find the correct evidence in such a massive volume of debris.

Ted
 
We had our much loved Scout 187 Sportfish stored at Sundance. We have been in touch with insurance and will be made whole again but it still does not take the sting out of our loss. We loved that boat.
 
mycows said:
We had our much loved Scout 187 Sportfish stored at Sundance. We have been in touch with insurance and will be made whole again but it still does not take the sting out of our loss. We loved that boat.
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You will be made financially whole again. The reality is you will still have suffered a loss. Even financially, you'll have the cost and effort to find a replacement and perhaps even additional cost getting the replacement boat to the condition of the one lost. A lot of time and effort. The replacement boat likely more expensive than the one lost although it doesn't have to be.

I'd rather have my five year old boat any day than someone else's five year old boat valued the same.

We feel for you. We know it's painful. We're just thankful there wasn't loss of life in Portland. Definitely a reminder of what can happen and why we do all need good insurance.

A thought to Sundance a moment too. Depending on their policy they may incur a significant unreimbursed cost. I doubt seriously that they have property coverage that will even come close to the cost of replacement for the facility. I sure hope they have good business interruption insurance. On top of the direct losses, they've lost a lot of good customers as well and substantial trust and goodwill has been lost.
 
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mycows said:
We had our much loved Scout 187 Sportfish stored at Sundance. We have been in touch with insurance and will be made whole again but it still does not take the sting out of our loss. We loved that boat.
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MyCow - Sorry to hear about your boat Amigo, I hope there is not a big hassle with insurance etc. The folks that own the Marina must be living a night mare, now. Hope things go well with them. Tonto
 
mycows said:
We had our much loved Scout 187 Sportfish stored at Sundance. We have been in touch with insurance and will be made whole again but it still does not take the sting out of our loss. We loved that boat.
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Sorry to hear of your lost boat. Glad it wasn't that beautiful Krogen, but it sucks to lose a boat. :flowers:
 
Going to the marina today and see the wreckage. I have also been assigned to a claims adjuster and have e-mailed a list of personal property to my insurance company.
The fire was about 600 feet as the crow flies from where we keep Tamaroa and she was never in danger so it will not affect our summer plans for cruising. The most important thing is that there was no loss of life and hopefully Sundance will rebuild as there is a need for direct to water dry storage in Portland.
Just by coincidence the Scout dealer moved to a location just 2 blocks from the fire. I may just have to check out the new models.........
 
I have always been worried about the prevalance of "boat stacks" especially covered or indoor ones. There are quite a few of them up here around the PNW. There is an outdoor one, on the northside of Lake Union that had a fire about 2 years ago. The fire started from someone setting off fireworks on July 4th from condos above the stacks. One still lit landed in a boat. Something like 30 boats burned. The only reason it was not more is that there was a staff person there who could run the forklift and he alone saved most of the boats. Not to sure I would want my boat stored that way.
 
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