Boats in Conn. Marina Damaged by Fire

June 30, 2014
Fairfield Assistant Chief Scott Bisson said it was a stubborn fire to fight.

June 30--FAIRFIELD -- Firefighters worked quickly Sunday afternoon to limit the damage from a blaze at the South Benson Marina.

"It was a stubborn fire," said Assistant Fire Chief Scott Bisson, "but we were able to fight it from the shore side of the dock and get it under control quickly."

But by the time the blaze was out, the fire had consumed two of the boats and caused moderate to severe damage to the fiberglass or gel coating on two others.

"Depending on how bad that damage is, those boats could be unseaworthy," Bisson said.

Two other boats received minor damage. Bisson estimated the damage costs at more than $40,000.

A man working on one of the boats dove into the water to avoid the flames. He was pulled from to safety by another boater and refused medical treatment for minor cuts, the assistant fire chief said.

The fire marshal determined the fire was caused when an electrical spark from an extension cord ignited gasoline vapors on one of the boats.

The fire also knocked out power to that section of the "G" dock and briefly stranded as many as 500 people on it.

"If we hadn't gotten the fire knocked as quickly as we did and the 110 gallons of fuel on one of the burning boats had been released, we could have had a disaster," Bisson said. "That boat had already burned through one of it dock lines, had it burned through another and floated out -- I don't even want to think about it."

There were several hundred boats moored at the dock.

By 2:30 p.m. the marina was back to 95 percent of its operation.

Bisson said at the height of the blaze, which was reported at 12:30 p.m., there were three engine companies, two ladder companies and both police and fire boats at the scene with about 20 firefighters. Additionally, Bridgeport dispatched its police and fire boats to control access to the marina.

Bisson said the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Connecticut Environmental Conservation Police were contacted to help contain any hazardous fluids, but firefighters were able to minimize any leakage into the water. The U.S. Coast Guard was also notified, but did not respond to the fire.

Copyright 2014 - Connecticut Post, Bridgeport

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