BOSTON (WHDH) - As many as 50 firefighters jumped from one houseboat to the next as they battled a large blaze that broke out at a marina in Charlestown late Tuesday night, sinking two homes and badly damaging a third.
Fire crews racing to Constitution Road just before 11:30 p.m. found a boat fully engulfed in flames and two others that had also ignited, according to Boston Deputy Fire Chief Robert Calobrisi.
The firefighters attacked the blaze from both the ground and the North Washington Street Bridge.
Calobrisi says he believes fuel from one of the boats made extinguishing the flames more difficult.
“I got to believe there was some diesel fuel onboard one of the larger boats that kept stoking the fire and as soon as you hit it and darkened it down, it would reignite again,” he said.
The firefighters were also faced with other challenges, including navigating through the tight area of the marina and dragging fire hose for several blocks to get enough water on the blaze.
The stubborn fire was eventually extinguished after the department’s marine unit sprayed flame retardant foam onto the boats.
Walter Hope, who lived on one of the boats for 15 years, said he scrambled to extinguish the fire but it became too overwhelming.
“These are people’s homes. They’re not luxuries,” he said. “We tried to put the fire out. We used six different fire extinguishers but it just kept coming back.”
Another woman who was on one of the vessels managed to escape unharmed.
Two of the boats ended up sinking. A third may be a total loss. Calobrisi estimated damages at $1 million.
Lance Ryley, who evacuated his boat, Happy Life, said he saw the flames and then heard loud pops, which came from exploding propane tanks.
“I just got my wife, said get the dogs and get out of here,” Ryley said. “The first boat that caught fire was actually a gasoline engine boat.”
The marina owner tells 7News the fire began on a 32-foot motor boat called Okey Dokey, which sank, along with a 54-foot meridian called Steel ‘N Time. The 36-foot Chickadee is still afloat but badly burned.
Walter Hope, whose boat, Gratitude, also was damaged said he didn’t know initially what was happening.
“We saw flames, thought we had it under control. We called the fire department, did what we could with fire extinguishers. When we knew it was time, we left. It was intense, absolutely intense,” Hope said.
There were no other reported injuries.
“We’re just pretty fortunate that no one was hurt,” Calobrisi said. “We’re grateful for that actually and that’s the main thing. You can replace a boat, you can’t replace a person.”
The US Coast Guard will handle the environmental cleanup of the fuel.
Divers are on site from marine salvage companies and plan to use airbags to refloat the sunken boats and remove them.
Up to 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel and gasoline leaked.
Containment booms are in place.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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