MA Firefighters Keep Boat Blaze in Marina from Spreading
By Rogers Dave
Source The Daily News of Newburyport, Mass.
SALISBURY, MA—Two people were badly burned about 4 p.m. Wednesday when the motorboat they were about to cruise in exploded while refueling at the Bridge Marina dock.
Salisbury fire Capt. Andrew Murphy said the injured man and woman were taken to Portsmouth Regional Hospital with what he called "serious burns."
Flames shot high above the dock and plumes of acrid, black smoke billowed from the pleasure craft, Vitamin Sea, as local and regional firefighters fought to keep the fire from spreading to a nearby gasoline pump and the dock. Also on hand were a U.S. Coast Guard surf rescue boat and the Newburyport fireboat Raven.
Murphy said the fire was extinguished within 30 minutes before it could ignite anything else. Dozens of people watched from the nearby Gillis Memorial Bridge and news helicopters circled the scene.
What caused the fire is still under investigation but Bridge Marina employee Dan Flynn said as he was pumping gasoline into the boat's tank, he saw gas leaking from the boat. A moment later, it blew up.
"Boom! Like a large explosion," Flynn said. "I was scared, it was right in front of me."
Flynn, who recently started his second summer at the popular marina, said he immediately shut off the gas valve to the pump and called 911. He estimated there were as many as eight people in and around the boat when it exploded.
A passenger, who declined to give his name, said the owner had picked up the boat minutes earlier.
They were getting ready to motor through the mouth of the Merrimack River and head south until they reached Boston. Another passenger told police she was from East Boston and they were heading there.
Units from Newburyport, Amesbury and Hampton, New Hampshire, assisted local firefighters. No firefighters were injured, according to Murphy.
Route 1 and the Gillis Bridge remained open to traffic during the emergency.
———
©2020 The Daily News of Newburyport (Newburyport, Mass.)
Visit The Daily News of Newburyport (Newburyport, Mass.) at www.newburyportnews.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.