There were some tense moments Monday night when a boat fire threatened to spread to many other boats at Erwin Marine.
The Chattanooga Fire Department received the alarm at 11:56 p.m. and responded to 3001 Kings Point Road with Quint 6, Quint 10 and the fire-rescue boat.
Capt. Chuck McMillian with Quint 6 said the 28-foot Rinker Fiesta 280 was fully engulfed in flames when the first firefighters arrived on the scene. One empty boat slip separated the burning boat from numerous other watercraft tied up in their slips. Capt. McMillian said fire attack efforts were temporarily delayed until firefighters could force their way through a locked security gate. There was also a downed power line lying across the burning boat.
As the firefighters brought in hand-held hoselines to attack the fire, the boat's mooring lines burned up and set the boat adrift into an open area between the docks. Fire streams from the fire-rescue boat were used to direct the drifting boat onto the shoreline and away from the other watercraft. The firefighters then finished extinguishing the blaze and deployed absorbent booms to contain motor oil and fuel from the burned boat.
No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is undetermined and under investigation.