FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. --
A 60-foot yacht caught fire in Fort Lauderdale Thursday.
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Firefighters said the vessel was totaled and the occupants were extremely lucky. The occupants stepped off of the pacemaker, named the "Champagne Lady," to make a phone call moments before the yacht erupted into flames.
One witness described the fire.
"All of a sudden I looked out my windshield and I could see the boat in front of me, maybe 200 yards, engulfed in flames," Gilbert Roosevelt said.
Roosevelt caught the yacht fire on camera.
"The boat was going up the river and it had engine problems," he said. "He pulled into Marina Bay. He docked the boat and checked the problem he was having with his engine. Smoke was coming out of the engine room."
Firefighters said battling the fire in the summer heat was difficult.
The owner of the boat, with a captain and passengers, docked at 2401 State Road 84 in the Marina Bay complex after noticing problems with the engine around 3:15 p.m.
"The first unit was here at the dock at 3:22, or seven minutes after the initial 911 call," Steve McInerny of Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue said. "We ended up stretching a total of three lines, riding our fire boat, using foam in combination with the water for the fire attack defensive operation only. Because the end of the dock was burning in three sections, the yacht was fully involved on arrival. We certainly didn't want to risk any of our personnel putting them on board the vessel."
There were no injuries to passengers or firefighters.
A salvage crew arrived at the scene while the owner and authorities assessed the damage to the yacht.
The owner of the boat said he was too upset to talk. He said he has a heart condition and was not feeling well.
Authorities said they think the overheated engine caused the fire.
