April 27--SEATTLE -- A touring boat owner and his engineer awoke early Friday to the terrifying sight of their vessel engulfed in flames.
Dan Blanchard was asleep on his boat, the Safari Spirit, docked at Ballard Fisherman's Terminal when the crackling sound of the fire woke him up.
"I woke up about 1 a.m. to odd sounds. I went out the aft door of the boat and flames were already engulfing the side of the vessel," Blanchard said.
"I started yelling 'fire, fire, fire' and got the engineer out of his cabin and we skinnied down a mooring line to get off the boat."
By the time fire crews arrived on the scene, the 105-foot yacht was ablaze and listing to the right.
Rescuers decided to let a fire burn rather than approach it and risk a capsize, Seattle Fire Department spokesperson Kyle Moore said.
Firefighters and police removed six nearby boats to keep the fire from spreading.
They were able to get some water and foam on the blaze from a distance and as their hoses filled the boat with water, they used pumps to keep it upright.
"Pretty much this boat is going to be a total loss, but we are trying to prevent it from spreading to other boats in the area and also trying to minimize the environmental damage," Moore said.
For years, Blanchard has been using the boat to take tourists on cruises up to Alaska. He says its destruction is an incredible loss to him personally but he is thankful no one was hurt.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Copyright 2012 - KCPQ/KMYQ-TV, Seattle
