posted October 4, 2008
) Photo by Bruce Garner |
They were out celebrating an anniversary for two of the passengers, and were on the way back to the dock in the Windward Pointe subdivision when they started noticing an unusual odor - like something was overheating.
Tim Collins, the boat's owner, said one of the boat's two motors appeared to be malfunctioning, so he shut it off and tried to make it back to the dock with the remaining motor. Before they could make it back, the motor compartment burst into flames.
Mr. Collins said all six of those on board had to jump out of the boat and swim approximately 50 feet to the boat dock. No one was injured.
The boat, described as a 37-foot sport cruiser, was now fully engulfed in flames and drifting toward the boat dock. While someone called 911, Mr. Collins said he used a long pole to keep the burning boat away from the dock.
The Chattanooga Fire Department was dispatched to the scene at 8:48 p.m. and responded with several fire apparatus, including the fire-rescue boat. The firefighters on shore could not reach the boat with their hand-held hoselines. When the fire-rescue boat arrived moments later, the firefighters used water from the boat's powerful deck gun to push the burning vessel away from the dock and onto shore.
The firefighters on the shore were then able to finish putting out the fire using Class B foam, in part because the boat still had up to 150 gallons of fuel on board. An estimate on the loss was not available, but the damage to the boat was substantial.
The fire department's haz-mat team was called in to help contain any damage from the leaking fuel.
Chattanooga police and officers with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency also responded to the scene.
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