Sad day for someone. Everett Fire

They seem to have it under control, but looked bad

Photos and information here.

https://patch.com/washington/edmonds/several-boats-sink-large-fire-everett-marina

Five boats lost.
Bruce

https://myeverettnews.com/2017/07/08/5-boats-destroyed-in-everett-marina-fire/

Horrible, just horrible.

Donna said:

Horrible, just horrible.

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As I was looking for information about the fire last night, I found one story that had a short video of the boats on fire. It was incredibly sobering to see.
It was just taken by someone with their camera phone and the perspective was wrong but did convey the ferocity of the fire.
Horrible is the word...
Bruce

I know the feeling and sorry for those that lost their boats.

I'm very relieved to see no lives lost and no serious injuries.

A question I toss out is "Would you be willing to pay slightly more for dockage at a marina that had a pump and had fire hoses on all docks?"

BandB said:

I'm very relieved to see no lives lost and no serious injuries.

A question I toss out is "Would you be willing to pay slightly more for dockage at a marina that had a pump and had fire hoses on all docks?"

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Interesting you say that...one of the Yacht Clubs we frequent was required by their Insurance company to supply 4" headers for the fire department at the beginning of each dock segment. Cost them a bundle. Surprisingly the number of docks is not that large maybe 150 boats.

mbevins said:

Interesting you say that...one of the Yacht Clubs we frequent was required by their Insurance company to supply 4" headers for the fire department at the beginning of each dock segment. Cost them a bundle. Surprisingly the number of docks is not that large maybe 150 boats.

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Well, it just seems a bit strange to me that docks are located on water, yet have no water supplied to them for fighting fires. I will make an observation here too that the PNW sure seems to have more than their share of marina fires.

OUr small marina and the club I used to belong to installed a large supply pipe on their own a bunch of years ago. It was meant to be supplied by the fire department from the nearest hydrant or the pumper truck running a steel main down to the head of each branch from the main dock. Still left some distances but cut off a huge level of hoses needed. Then the fire dept. would use hoses to fill in the rest of the way.

Thank heaven has not been needed.

BandB said:

Well, it just seems a bit strange to me that docks are located on water, yet have no water supplied to them for fighting fires. I will make an observation here too that the PNW sure seems to have more than their share of marina fires.

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Our marina does have fire hose connections on the docks. Our marina is a condominium however. It may be that we as individual owners are more willing/able to pay for that and a private marina? I am not sure as I have only been here for 6 years.

There certainly have been a number of marina fires in the PNW. Not sure why.

C lectric said:

OUr small marina and the club I used to belong to installed a large supply pipe on their own a bunch of years ago. It was meant to be supplied by the fire department from the nearest hydrant or the pumper truck running a steel main down to the head of each branch from the main dock. Still left some distances but cut off a huge level of hoses needed. Then the fire dept. would use hoses to fill in the rest of the way.

Thank heaven has not been needed.

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Why not put in their own pump though? Not like there is a shortage of water at the docks.

BandB said:

Why not put in their own pump though? Not like there is a shortage of water at the docks.

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Good question.

Maybe there's more heaters running in the PNW? More liveaboards? Are there a lot of smaller boats in slips, with gas engines?

CDreamer said:

Maybe there's more heaters running in the PNW? More liveaboards? Are there a lot of smaller boats in slips, with gas engines?

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All of the above could be possible. I know that our marina is very strict about the type of heaters that can be left on an unattended boat.

Wonder how long it takes the crew to assemble to take the fire boat out. A fire house is about six blocks away.

BandB said:

I'm very relieved to see no lives lost and no serious injuries.

A question I toss out is "Would you be willing to pay slightly more for dockage at a marina that had a pump and had fire hoses on all docks?"

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Sad losses for sure. Maybe not all PNW marina's are strict enough regarding unattended heating methods. Also, maybe a case to have liveaboards scattered throughout, as they could raise the alarm earlier and move adjoining boats out of harms way.

I'm surprised at the question about paying more for places with fire hoses. Down here AFAIK its a mandatory condition of the marina head lease or approval permit. My own finger with just 12 slips has a fire hose at the first berth and another at the outermost berth, as well as a header where the finger meets the shore.

Insequent said:

Sad losses for sure. Maybe not all PNW marina's are strict enough regarding unattended heating methods. Also, maybe a case to have liveaboards scattered throughout, as they could raise the alarm earlier and move adjoining boats out of harms way.

I'm surprised at the question about paying more for places with fire hoses. Down here AFAIK its a mandatory condition of the marina head lease or approval permit. My own finger with just 12 slips has a fire hose at the first berth and another at the outermost berth, as well as a header where the finger meets the shore.

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The city of Fort Lauderdale has a fire boat. Fire Station #49 is located on the water and it's staffed 24/7/365 with a minimum of 5 people at all times.

I think we're talking several different things on fire hoses.

-the marina having a fire hose or hoses, which can be anywhere.
-having hoses on the docks
-having pumps and hoses located on the docks, self sufficient and not dependent on fire trucks or city water

When we rebuilt the marina after a fire destroyed it 12 years ago. The fire prevention in the new marina includes a dry stand pipe that has outlets at the base of the dock and every 150 ft and at the end of the dock. This pipe can be charged by a hydrant about 60 ft away thereby charging the entire system... because the marina is covered there are blow out panels over every boat the ridge is vented and there are solid flame curtains every 4th slip...

The fire that destroyed the marina was caused by a mechanic that pulled the heads on a gas engine he just leaned the fuel line up against the side of the boat. evidently the fuel line slipped and filled the bilge with gas that was ignited when a battery charger was activated... The marina was fully on fire in less than 20 minutes every boat that was under the roof was lost... the only boat that was not a total loss was tied to end of the marina and was a liveaboard the owner started it didnt bother to untie it just put it in gear and pulled the cleats out of the dock... This boat suffered over 250,000 in damage from heat alone....

marina fires are nothing to fool with

Tonight's news said something about a witness saying they hear an engine start then a loud bang. Sounds like it may be a gasoline kinda thing.

There's something to say about cement fingers/docks. And covered docks are a fire nightmare.

Without foam, putting out and enclosed, fiberglass boat with fuel onboard is next to impossible.

Water could be used to keep adjacent boats cool, but unless the boat on fire is under some control, that wont work forever.

Untrained people using fire hoses could be a blessing, or a curse.

Even trained people can show up to boat fires without all the equipment they might need and even foam.

Many marinas marinas we stay at with either long docks, local laws or just meeting modern standards do have fire water access, either city feed or saltwater draw.

I experience firsthand how quick and hot the fire is.Marina, where I am, do not have any fire prevention equipment. The only one fire hydrant is far away and constantly blocked.
Water is not good for burning boat, but the foam is. When the 4 fire truck shows up, none had a foam. There is no state nor federal regulation of what marina should have to suppress a fire. Boat fire can happen in any marina. The only way to stop the fire from spreading to other boats is to have a fire proof wall.

Marinas with fuel docks in the US ...I believe have to have multiple extinguishers.

The other way to prevent a fire from spreading is to move the boats on either side....QUICKLY!

Somebody mentioned just starting and pulling the cleats out of the dock. I have been wondering if that might be an option...
Is a boat like ours strong enough to pull out 10" or 12" cleats that are through bolted on a wooden dock???
Maybe a sharp knife is a better option???
Bruce

I set up a fire fighting demo with the local Fire Department several years ago at Port Credit Yacht Club. We demonstrated how difficult it was to put out a fire. We turned it into a bit of an event with free fire extinguisher inspections, discount re-charges and replacement extinguishers and a BBQ. The result of that exercise was the club purchasing a large firefighting pump on four wheels that can be run down the docks.

Depend on wind direction - if there is explosion ( someone forgot to turn on the blower) then the boat next to it is gone. Fiberglass and wood burns very fast and hot -again from my personal experience. Having 6 large docking lines, I was able to cut 2 before heat chase me away. Having a fire hose could save the boat to keep it wet and cool down. That little water hose is no match for the fire and heat. The only "safe" place in a marina - mooring ball.

I don't think it's realistic to expect "people" to move other boats away from a fire in the next slip. If you're on your own boat, maybe if the fire isn't raging. You have a key, you're onboard. But there's no way a neighbor or even several would be able to move someone else's 40' boat in the time it takes for a fire to get out of control of in the next slip.

Absolutely not, just cut the boats free, untie them, float away and jump to another boat.

A lot of dings and scrapes are better than a melted boat and insurance companies know that.

If people knew how to tie boats up well, it takes less than a minute to untie a boat and push it out of a slip unless wind or current have it pinned in.

I have towed a boat out of a marina that was on fire at the fuel dock, not all fires are instant conflagrations.

Life brings challenges....confront them.

psneeld said:

Absolutely not, just cut the boats free, untie them, float away and jump to another boat.

A lot of dings and scrapes are better than a melted boat and insurance companies know that.

If people knew how to tie boats up well, it takes less than a minute to untie a boat and push it out of a slip unless wind or current have it pinned in.

I have towed a boat out of a marina that was on fire at the fuel dock, not all fires are instant conflagrations.

Life brings challenges....confront them.

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As psneeld says, you just try to create fire walls and isolate the burning boat or boats. Send them away from the dock and worry about picking them up later. The primary boat is going to be lost regardless, so all you're trying to do is limit the damage to others and to the docks.