Boat fire at Fort Pierce City Marina

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Lots of questions at this point but from the size of the boat I'd guess it was gas and that begs the question: Did they run the blowers before turning over the key?
 
Geez, looks like it’s the slip next to Last Mango (at least that’s his dockbox) . . . a friend of Moonstruck’s. It looks from another photo that LM’s slip is empty, so hopefully he was out on a charter. Thoughts and prayers for the two who weren’t so lucky.
 
Scares the heck out of me whenever anything like this happens. Hoping for a full recovery for the injured.
 
Very good catch, Ian. That is Moonstruck's old slip next to Last Mango. It did look like Last Mango was out on charter. Lucky for Capt. Tris. He takes care of his boat like it's a prized vintage Ferrari. Prayers for the two victims.
 
Pretty gutsy on Last Mango crew's part.
 
Damn! I’ll say that was gutsy. The FB post says there were no injuries, but the media account says otherwise.
 
So that was where the smoke was coming from looking South from the pavilion at Harbortown.
 
Donna said:
Gutsy would have been attending to the injured. Life before possessions.
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Definitely agree life before possessions, Donna, but are you assuming they weren’t already being attended to?
 
Yes, I am assuming that from the video. It’s just how I am from our family background in law enforcement and first responders.

Nobody loves their boat more than I love mine, but it can be replaced.

My avatar pic was taken at fort pierce city marina.
 
Seems like the boat that left was pretty smart. Injured appear removed before boat left. Are there dock mounted fire hoses in place at this marina?
 
What if you don't know how to attend to the injured, but you do know how to move a boat? What is the best thing to do: sit and hold the hand of a burn victim and watch the fire spread to the next boat?
 
Ten minutes from the start of the dockwa video until water applied. The Viking was really lucky its interior window curtains did not catch fire. I was surprised no one used a dock hose in any way. A simple garden hose will put out a lot of fire if applied early. It would not extinguish this blaze but could stop or at least slow down the spread to others.
 
I'm not ready to second-guess anyone's decision. And getting other boats away from the flames so the whole marina doesn't go up is a pretty high priority. Certainly not higher than saving a life, but in some situations saving the marina could actually save a lot more lives.

Very sad at any rate. I had a close friend in a burn unit for weeks. Not something I'd wish on anybody!
 
I watched the video and kept wondering why a municipal facility of this size, that pumps gasoline & Diesel, could have hundreds maybe a thousand people on property , and yet has no one to respond to something like this (even just during normal business hours). While I'm not looking for the marina to have a fire department, if they are required to have fire extinguishers, hydrants on the docks and other suppression equipment, shouldn't they have a few cross trained people who could start suppression until the cavalry shows up? Wonder if a facility of that size has a requirement for any employees with CPR and basic first aid training?

Ted
 
It seems in today's world its more important to get a video.:nonono:
 
Woodland Hills said:
What if you don't know how to attend to the injured, but you do know how to move a boat? What is the best thing to do: sit and hold the hand of a burn victim and watch the fire spread to the next boat?
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I have a fair amount of experience wirh marina fires from 2 professions.

1. If you cant administer first aid, get the people who need it to first aid or away from potential explosions. Most people will do that, most wont run towards the fire and minimize other potential dangerous situations.

2. Cut boats on either side of the fire free as soon as possible, deal with them downwind secondarily.

3. Once a boat is fully or even partially engulfed, usually only some form of professional equipment with foam will extinguish it.

4. If the boats on either side of it are gone and pro firefighting gear is still a distance away.... if some dumb goober like me will tow it out of the marina, you still have to be careful the towline doesnt burn through and it drifts into other boats. So the next best thing is pull it into the fairway with multiple lines until real help arrives.

5. If water in great amounts is available and you dont have foam or professional expertise, pump water (from a safe distance) on nearby slips to prevent heat damage until things get better.

6. Most boat catch fire from DC electrical issues more so than fuel....so it can happen at any time, not just when someone is aboard messing around. In cold snaps, boats with cabins may burn from lousy heating setups and power cords.
 
psneeld said:
5. If water in great amounts is available and you dont have foam or professional expertise, pump water (from a safe distance) on nearby slips to prevent heat damage until things get better.
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What is the safe distance to be standing from exploding propane tanks? That would be my concern, and why I wouldn't rush forward if things were on their way to being fully engulfed.
 
We had just tied up on the same dock and checked in when we heard a loud “boom” and within 30 seconds this boat was fully involved. Without proper firefighting gear it would have been hard to get close enough to use a water hose to cool the other boat that got scorched, we could feel the heat from the tiki bar several hundred feet away. One of the neighbors helped pull a woman from the boat, they were all evacuated from the boat very quickly. Firefighters were able to contain and put out the fire pretty quickly after arriving on the scene.
 
MurrayM said:
What is the safe distance to be standing from exploding propane tanks? That would be my concern, and why I wouldn't rush forward if things were on their way to being fully engulfed.
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safe distance would include a pretty good barrier to stand behind unless your water throw was 100 feet or more...plus it involves what kind of gear you are wearing.

....and it was more about pumping water on surrounding boats to keep heat damage down than putting the fire out which is unlikely.

that advice is by no means scientific, just from my experience.... maybe a better trained firefighter has better numbers.
 
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Statement from Last Mango. I do not know anyone involved, a good friend from Fort Pierce sent this to me.

Close call for the Last Mango this evening. The ‘Gypsy Tours’ boat, powered by a 350hp gasoline engine and docks on our north side, pulled into her slip today around 5:300PM and proceeded to blow up and then burn to the waterline. 1st Mate Joey Mariano and Capt Rich of Fins Sportfishing saved the Mango from certain destruction by getting her out of her slip immediately after the Gypsy exploded. Their actions were at great risk to themselves and they are the heroes of the day!!!
Our port side windows melted and I’m not sure how our brand new Awl Grip paint job faired but all in all we lucked out.
Joeys face was slightly burned as he slipped off the dock lines on the fire side. The Captain of Gypsy Tours in hospital! Passengers of Gypsy Tours were still on board and explosion knocked at least two in the water. Before moving the Mango to safety and while the Gypsy was engulfed in flames, 1st Joey Mariano saved another passenger who trapped on the bow of the Gypsy by somehow hauling him to safety across a substantial space.
The Viking boat in the slip on the other side of Gypsy was not moved and sustained significant damage as #firefighters contained the blaze. If not for them the whole dock could have easily gone up in flames one boat at a time.
 
I won’t Sunday afternoon Quarterback without all of the facts, but a few thoughts based on a 3 min video..

A very good example why diesel is better than gas.

I saw no reason why that boat crew should not have removed their boat from the situation.

PSneeld, thanks for that. Good reminders. Many people don’t realize foam is needed to fully Extinguish a fire involving fiberglass Which is essentially oil in solid form.

As noted by others, water can be used to cool and control adjacent areas and boats. But, ordinary citizens are not Trained in the use of hose streams and using them may result in a liability for the marina if someone were to get hurt. IE, the fire department or other trained responders are the folks that apply the hose streams.

Dynamic situation...people need to do the best they can based on split second decisions.
 
psneeld said:
....and it was more about pumping water on surrounding boats to keep heat damage down than putting the fire out which is unlikely.
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You can see when the FD charges the hose the first thing they put water on was the Viking. They used their one line to stop the loss of the neighboring boat. Only after totally soaking down the Viking sides did they go for extinguishing the original boat. That's called protecting the exposures. What is already burned is lost. The original boat was a total loss before they rolled up. The first -in engine only has about 500 gal (~5 minutes) of water and you have to choose where it goes for the best use. You use that to save the unburned. They did exactly the right thing. Textbook. :thumb:
 
Fires of electrical origin are also a leading cause shoreside, however...

The FP of gasoline is very low, so the vapor can be ignited very easily.

The FP of diesel is 125F so a fuel spill is not necessarily going to ignite in all cases.

The hazard of a gas boat is much greater than a diesel boat for that reason. It is the reason the vast majority of recreational boat fires are gas, not diesel.
 
There are so many more gas boats so you do have to pick through the statistics more carefully. I cant say what percentage of fuel started fires are directly attributable to its flashpoint.

Sure gas is more dangerous by nature, but gas boats are usually only more dangerous if operated or maintained improperly.

No need to be afraid of them, just careful.
 
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Fletcher500 said:
I won’t Sunday afternoon Quarterback without all of the facts, but a few thoughts based on a 3 min video..



A very good example why diesel is better than gas.



I saw no reason why that boat crew should not have removed their boat from the situation.



PSneeld, thanks for that. Good reminders. Many people don’t realize foam is needed to fully Extinguish a fire involving fiberglass Which is essentially oil in solid form.



As noted by others, water can be used to cool and control adjacent areas and boats. But, ordinary citizens are not Trained in the use of hose streams and using them may result in a liability for the marina if someone were to get hurt. IE, the fire department or other trained responders are the folks that apply the hose streams.



Dynamic situation...people need to do the best they can based on split second decisions.
Click to expand...



Looked to me like just a quint squirting water thru a rubber hose.
 
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