Brats,
Here is a copy of a post from the Trawlers and Trawlering list.
Quote:
An older model 25 foot or so cabin cruiser named 'Therapy' finishes
fueling and begins to move away from the fuel dock. Husband and wife on
board.
Something's not right, engine misfired, husband goes down into the cabin,
wife at the helm.
Explosion. Sounds like a shotgun going off x 10.
I call 911 and I'm told to stay on the line. We're a couple hundred feet
away. People are screaming, call 911. I let them know I did.
Flames engulf the cabin. Black smoke.
Woman screams and dock hands start yelling for her to jump into the
water. The boat is blown by the wind further from the fuel dock.
Flames and smoke engulf her as she jumps into the water, no life jacket.
Dockhand jumps in the water and swims to her and a dingy arrives with a
life jacket. Marina manager, Bill Gary, dives into the water.
Either Bill or the dockhand (we can't tell from our vantage point) starts
climbing the swim platform to get the husband when the entire boat in one
loud swoosh becomes engulfed in flames, he jumps back into the water.
I get on the VHF and put out a call for a doctor, no one answers.
Husband is still on board and is presumed dead. He never reappears.
Dingy driver gets woman out of the water and back on the fuel dock.
Towboat US races to the boat, she's being blown into a dock full of
sailboats.
Towboat US able to deflect the burning boat towards empty slips at the
shipyard.
Towboat US turns to get a line on the burning vessel, line gets tangled
in his props. Towboat captain jumps in the water to untangle his props,
two other dinghies hold the towboat out of the flames.
The burning vessel comes to rest against the empty docks and sets them on
fire.
Towboat US gets a line on the boat and is going to tow it to the boat
ramp. He has to round the end of a long dock.
I'm heading over to the boat ramp. Black plumes of smoke now coming from
the end of the dock. Something's wrong.
Somehow, Towboat US lost the burning boat (rope burned through?) and it
drifted into the back of a large houseboat with a Sea Doo and small
outboard boat on back, both are now engulfed in flames.
Towboat US boat is now on fire and begins drifting into the dock full of
boats.
Some larger boats were able to throw off their lines and back into the
fairway as the burning towboat drifts toward their slips.
EMS and Fire personnel have arrived. Not enough hose to reach the end of
the pier where the houseboat is docked.
Houseboat owner backs his now burning houseboat out into the fairway to
get the flames away from neighboring boats. He wedges the bow into the
slip so he doesn't drift away and help can reach him. Smart move.
I'm carrying and dragging fire hose along with several volunteers down
the dock. I know how to assemble hose and began doing so. We run out of
hose. Black plumes of smoke make it difficult to see and breathe.
I'm grabbing fire extinguishers and carrying them to the houseboat. I
handed him one, he turned and dropped it into the water. I hand him the
other and retrieved the one in the water and hand it to him. He goes to
fight the fire, but that type fire extinguisher won't extinguish this
class of fire.
More fire trucks arrive. Hoses have holes, can't get enough water
pressure. Segments of hose are being replaced. I'm now turning my
attention to the burning Towboat US drifting into slip next to me. Men
with water hoses spray. I've got a fire extinguisher and am holding the
flames down enough for them to extinguish the larger hot spots. No water
yet from the fire trucks. Firemen grab garden hoses. We fight the fire.
Small boat with two men onboard comes up to the Towboat and the guy on
the front throws an anchor on the towboat and pulls it away from the
docks, she's still burning. They hand the lines to the rescue boat that
just arrived and they pull the Towboat toward the boat ramp.
Got to get the burning small boats off the houseboat now. Flames are
larger and smoke is getting thick.
The Sea doo and small boat are secured to the houseboat with a cable.
Fire is too hot. He can't get close to the lock. He can't cut them loose,
he has no bolt cutters. The call goes out for bolt cutters and a lady in
a neighboring boat comes back with hers hands them up to the houseboat
owner.
The Sea doo drifts free and now the small outboard boat drifts free, both
on fire.
Rescue boat grapples the Sea doo and begin pulling it backward and it
sinks leaving a massive sheet of flames covering the water.
I'm handing out fire extinguishers telling people not to pull the handle
until they're sure they can hit the flames. We're out of fire
extinguishers.
Another Samaritan tows the small out the way. When they got it to the
boat ramp dock the found the fire extinguisher on the small boat and put
out the fire.
I'm heading to the boat ramp dock with the last of the fire
extinguishers. Firemen on the dock have none. Burning boats coming in,
not good.
I hand the extinguisher to a fireman and the still burning Towboat slips
under the pier. I push the Towboat out from the wooden pier. Fire is out.
Smoldering. Firemen and volunteers push and pull the Towboat to the
shallow water opposite the pier.
I call Kem to let her know that I'm heading back to our boat.
We're still debriefing and discussing different scenarios. There is a
large gasoline powered boat two slips down from us. If the wind was
blowing a different direction and the burning boat started drifting
toward us, what could we do to save our boat? What would we grab to take
if that wasn't possible?
A man lost his life today, a woman lost her husband. We're deeply
saddened. It somewhat scary to think what could have happened if the
houseboat owner, didn't risk his life to get those burning vessels away
from the dock. What would have happened if the Towboat US Captain hadn't
come to the rescue and in the end sacrificed his own vessel? What would
have happened if the dinghy skippers hadn't come to the rescue of the
lady in the water and of the towboat? What would have happened if the
staff and bystanders hadn't taken action to help?
People here all pitched in, worked together, and prevented what could
have been a much larger tragedy.
Bob
Bob DeGroot, D.C.H.
M/V Spirit Dancer
DeFever 49 CPMY
Lakewood Yacht Club - Seabrook, Texas
End Quote.
