Boat Fires

Interesting story about a local boat fire and related jurisdictional issues. Do YOU know who to call if there's a fire? Will your 911 operator tell you to call the Coast Guard?

Memorial Day Boat Fire On Broad Creek | TownDock.net | Oriental NC News, Weather, Photos

In Seattle the fire boat would respond. However, it takes them 30+ minutes to arrive. So we figured being a live aboard we were on our own. The crazy thing is the police boat that has a water cannon would take 5 minutes but it’s not their job/responsibility according to the two unions, Fire and Police.

In Everett the Land fired Dept does respond quickly. So make sure you know who to call and how long it will take.

I once listened to a radio conversation between a young lady and the Coast Guard. The conversation had to be relayed through a third party as the young lady could not reach the CG directly. The lady reported there was smoke coming out of their engine box. The CG wanted to know souls aboard and if they had life jackets. Five aboard, yes we have life jackets. The CG asked for a location which was given and there was more smoke. The CG asked if they would accept commercial assistance. The young lady getting desperate said yes, just please send help now she could see flames. Sea Tow or another commercial tower responded that they could be there in twenty minutes. Shortly there after she called to say that the flames were too high and they were getting off the boat. They were only a hundred yards or so offshore and were able to swim that distance. The shoreline at that point was about half a mile by dirt road to the nearest paved road and civilization so a buddy and I drove over to see if we could help. We met the young lady walking up the dirt road. We told her that we had been listening on the radio. All she could say was "Why wouldn't they come?" This happened in Biscayne Bay, south of Miami, near the mouth of Snapper Creek. It's real easy to be a long way from help when you're in a boat.

I think most boaters don't realize that, despite the help available eventually, and the immediacy of VHF or mobile phone connectivity, you really are on your own if you're out in a boat. Any boat, not just cruisers like ours.

I think incidents like the one HopCar describes are going to become more frequent as people become less and less reliant on themselves and more and more dependent on "officials" to protect or save them.

While we did not set out to buy a twin engine boat we are glad we have one as it provides a significant degree of self-reliance and independence from the commercial and government assistance organizations which up here are very often miles or hours or even days away from you particularly the farther north you go.

I think incidents like the one HopCar describes are going to become more frequent as people become less and less reliant on themselves and more and more dependent on "officials" to protect or save them.

Perhaps if the boats first purchaser could convince the boats assembler that the boat would NOT be purchased unless it was constructed of Fire Retarding resin , boat fires would be less of a hassle.

A nickle extra for a pound of resin that wont be spent with no demand.

FF

I wonder if they have statistics that show where most boat fires start? I would guess the battery. I've seen little trim pumps short out on smaller boats that would eventually lead to fires. We fished a tournament several years ago and the contender down the dock had brand new evanrude motors installed for the tourny and the tilt trim motor turned on about 9pm and eventually burned up and started a fire. We put it out with a garden hose but boat was totaled. The fiberglass caught but it didn't burn as fast as I thought it would. The wind was blowing away from us so it wasn't to hard to put out. I hate fires!

swampu said:

I wonder if they have statistics that show where most boat fires start? I would guess the battery.

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Well, certainly electrical systems in general and DC wiring in particular:

BoatUS: Seaworthy
Causes of Fires Started Aboard


Click on the links below for more information:

• 1) AC and DC wiring/appliance - 55%
• 2) Engine/Transmission Overheat - 24%
• 3) Fuel Leak - 8%
• 4) Miscellaneous - 7%
• 5) Unknown - 5%
• 6) Stove - 1%

Refugio: Thanks. Interesting stuff. I am surprised how low the AC electrical appliance/heater fires are at 4%. Talking to marine people you would think it's a lot higher. DC shorts account for 30% of all fires on board is another surprise. WOW!!

1) AC and DC wiring/appliance - 55%
DC shorts/wiring - 30%
DC engine voltage regulator - 12%
AC appliance/heater 4% shore power - 4%
AC wiring/panel - 2%
DC battery charger - 2%
AC power surge - 1%

Larry M said:

I am surprised how low the AC electrical appliance/heater fires are at 4%.

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Well, I'm going to make a guess here that less than 25% of all boats even have AC wiring.

If you could filter the numbers to cruisers over 40 feet (with possibly more AC than DC wiring) the numbers would be different.

Still, the BoatUS Seaworthy statistics and articles are interesting and sometimes instructive. Here's another one: "The Most Common Insurance Claims… And What you Can Do to Avoid Them" that has Fire and Explosion at #4: http://www.boatus.com/seaworthy/SWTTC.asp

A few weeks back, after reading about the recent spat of boat fires, I purchased a half dozen 9V battery-powered smoke detectors at $5 a piece. They are now mounted in the salon and each stateroom, the hall, the ER and the inverter cabinet. It's no substitute for fire prevention, but it might just get us a head start on fighting the fire or abandoning ship. And for $30, it's a no brainer.

Al, that sounds like overkill. A couple of detectors in our sized boats should be plenty.

FlyWright said:

A few weeks back, after reading about the recent spat of boat fires, I purchased a half dozen 9V battery-powered smoke detectors at $5 a piece. They are now mounted in the salon and each stateroom, the hall, the ER and the inverter cabinet. It's no substitute for fire prevention, but it might just get us a head start on fighting the fire or abandoning ship. And for $30, it's a no brainer.

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Agreed, although for a few extra $ you can get a combined smoke/CO unit, and these are now recommended by the ABYC for all "designated sleeping" areas, the galley AND the heads. I guess they don't want you falling asleep on the throne due to CO....

The ABYC also wants these units to be approved for marine service, which I assume would mean elimination of metals in the unit that could corrode. It also means paying twice what the thing is worth, but that's another story.

This rash of fires has prompted us to begin throwing the main switch on the starter batter when we leave the boat, since it is unfused, unlike the house bank. More psychological comfort than practical, I suspect. Sailing to Hawaii a few years ago, I noticed smoke pouring out from behind the electrical panel on our sailboat. Turned out to be the propane sniffer, which was fused, but shorted out and started to burn the PC board nonetheless. On that boat, because of how small it was and the fact that it happened in daylight, the problem was immediately evident from the smoke and smell. On a larger boat, I don't know what would have happened, but the middle of the Pacific is no place to find out.

Why the long response time? A man was sentenced May 29th in San Diego federal court after pleading guilty to two counts of communicating a false distress message to the Coast Guard, claiming there were three people aboard his sinking vessel-including a child-who were jumping into the water. The Coast Guard sent a search team that looked for the boat over an hour. In addition to the one year in federal prison, he was also ordered to pay restitution to the Coast Guard to offest the cost of the rescue mission.

Delfin said:

Agreed, although for a few extra $ you can get a combined smoke/CO unit, and these are now recommended by the ABYC for all "designated sleeping" areas, the galley AND the heads. I guess they don't want you falling asleep on the throne due to CO....

The ABYC also wants these units to be approved for marine service, which I assume would mean elimination of metals in the unit that could corrode. It also means paying twice what the thing is worth, but that's another story.

This rash of fires has prompted us to begin throwing the main switch on the starter batter when we leave the boat, since it is unfused, unlike the house bank. More psychological comfort than practical, I suspect. Sailing to Hawaii a few years ago, I noticed smoke pouring out from behind the electrical panel on our sailboat. Turned out to be the propane sniffer, which was fused, but shorted out and started to burn the PC board nonetheless. On that boat, because of how small it was and the fact that it happened in daylight, the problem was immediately evident from the smoke and smell. On a larger boat, I don't know what would have happened, but the middle of the Pacific is no place to find out.

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When electrical components fail and create fire/smoke, it always seems to be
the low voltage stuff. The 110 volt components just seems to stop working with little to no smoke and no fire? At work this last week we lost two PC power supplies and three PC monitors without even an odor?? Yet my boat fire/CO detector failed, literally melted down, and darn near started a fire and stunk up the boat? Maybe it's just Murphy's Law!!!
Larry B

Delfin said:

Agreed, although for a few extra $ you can get a combined smoke/CO unit, and these are now recommended by the ABYC for all "designated sleeping" areas, the galley AND the heads. I guess they don't want you falling asleep on the throne due to CO....

The ABYC also wants these units to be approved for marine service, which I assume would mean elimination of metals in the unit that could corrode. It also means paying twice what the thing is worth, but that's another story.

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I agree and when we replace out current hard wired CO detectors, we'll probably go with the smoke/CO combo units. But in the meantime, this provides immediate, inexpensive protection throughout the boat.

One thing that bothers me re: the combo units is that CO sinks and smoke rises. My gut tells me I'd get better protection with separate units; CO mounted low and Smoke mounted high.

Biggest thing i remember is my father installing the Hailon systems on both of his sportfishing boats in the engine bays. I thought it was over kill untill he said " if you'r 60 miles off shore and its burning you gonna stand in the yard and wait for the fire dept"? After a short thought i see his point he had something in each room of the boat to put out a fire. Now with the systems we have for co2 and smoke it's almost neglect if your not using some of this new teck stuff on board.

FlyWright said:

One thing that bothers me re: the combo units is that CO sinks and smoke rises. My gut tells me I'd get better protection with separate units; CO mounted low and Smoke mounted high.

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CO is slightly lighter than air so it tends to rise. If it is created as a byproduct of combustion then it will be warm and even less dense than the surrounding atmosphere. It rises with the smoke column if there is one.

Thanks RickB for the insight .

Rick B, Did you change your picture? I've been looking at that engine room for 8months hoping to make mine look like that one day. Cool looking picture now too.

Thanks for clarifying that. I mistakenly thought CO was heavier than air.

Great thread... thanks for all the posts. I’ll check on the fire-start %age links when time permits.

My Rule O’ Thumb, when boat is unattended for any extended periods:

1. Have a large, good condition, well wired bank of house batteries that is left at TOP charge when setting the boat at rest... check the battery bank’s condition at least once each time boat is used
2. Turn off master switch(es) that separate batteries from ALL electronics - - > except to the hardwired float switch activated bilge pump(s)
3. Shut down entire electric panel to off position on ALL breakers and other switches
4. Off hook shore line at boat and dock receptacles

I was brought up doing these items for best protection from unexpected fire while boat is unattended. This electrical separation technique also reduces anode deterioration due to reduced chance for electrical current / electrolysis.

So much for all those exploding propane fires. Anyone know where they are on the scale?

Late to the thread.All of the fires,more like explosions,that I have seen,come from fuel.Most are due to boat owners that are unaware of fuel issues in their engine rooms.Some of them are fuel leaks due to poor maintenance or people assuming their bilge blower(s) are working properly.Nearly every time I have seen a boat burn to the water,the operator says,"I don't know what happened.I ran the blower for x amount of time and it blew when I started the engine."I always pull the engine cover,or open the hatches,while I am doing my safety and system checks.Nothing better than fresh air and bilge blowers pushing air out.I have never seen a diesel boat catch fire.Diesel vapors are ways less volatile than gasoline vapors.

Hi Ben2go, Diesel boats burn very well and more often than I like. They just don't explode as much. Read my post in this thread on 05/30/12. That boat was diesel. I was once on a boat that caught fire. It was a gas boat but it was not a gasoline fire. It was a small electrical fire that wouldn't stay out. We emptied two dry chem extinquishers on it and it popped right back each time. We were about to unload a big expensive halon unit on it when someone grabbed a pot of water and doused it. That worked!
Ben, I had to look up that boat in your avatar. That guy designs some very interesting boats and they don't look too hard to build.

Discovered two extinguishers in the boat the other day, provided by the builder. Now I've got six. In four more years, maybe I'll understand my boat.

Most of the boat fires I've been aware of in this area over the years were started by electricity, not fuel or fume issues. Heaters drawing too much power, faulty or corroded breakers on boats and docks that failed to trip, shorts in a boat's wiring, corroded, high-resistance connections between the groundpower cable and the boat's groundpower receptacle that overheated or burned out and shorted-- the list is long.