On Saturday, August 5th, two people were killed and three people injured when their 35-foot power boat caught fire near a refueling dock. According to the officials in Long Beach, the fire occurred in Alamitos Bay in the 200 block of Marina Drive.
There were two deaths that occurred – both women in their sixties who weren’t able to be saved from the flames. The three other people injured were two men and one woman, also in their sixties. Those injured were sent to the hospital with burns and burn-related injuries, according to Long Beach Fire Captain Jake Heflin.
The fire began at 5:17 p.m, sending up a huge cloud of black smoke, clearly visible for many miles while firefighters attempted to put out the fire. Bystanders who were also trying to extinguish the flames before firefighters came told the rescue workers the boat was refueling when the fire started, but the cause of the fire is still being investigated, Heflin said.
The firefighters were able to knock out a large portion of the fire with water cannons, but were concerned with the safety of the surrounding water vessels, so they called in county firefighting support to make sure the other boats or the dock did not catch fire from fire embers that were sent flying in the air.
In the eyes of Daniel Quinn, a host at the nearby Crab Pot restaurant, the start of the fire sounded like a huge explosion, as if “someone landed on the roof.” “There was a big bang and I looked up, and there was this ginormous plume of black smoke,” he said.
The victims of the fire had a lot of serious injuries, burns all over their bodies, and were flown to local hospitals by helicopter to get treatment. The bodies of the deceased women were preserved as best as possible and their families informed, with funeral plans coming up.
In order to contain any pollution and minimize environmental impacts, booms were placed around the boat to make sure a potential fuel or oil spillage was not released into the ocean.
After the fire was put out, rescue workers worked to put the boat on an isolation dock, but the boat started taking on water and became partially submerged. The officials at Long Beach say they are going to use a private salvage company to remove the boat from the water.
In addition to any trauma caused by the fire to the victims, firefighters will be offered mental health services to deal with any trauma resulting from the situation.
Source:
Boat fire kills two and injures three in Long Beach – Los Angeles Times
There were two deaths that occurred – both women in their sixties who weren’t able to be saved from the flames. The three other people injured were two men and one woman, also in their sixties. Those injured were sent to the hospital with burns and burn-related injuries, according to Long Beach Fire Captain Jake Heflin.
The fire began at 5:17 p.m, sending up a huge cloud of black smoke, clearly visible for many miles while firefighters attempted to put out the fire. Bystanders who were also trying to extinguish the flames before firefighters came told the rescue workers the boat was refueling when the fire started, but the cause of the fire is still being investigated, Heflin said.
The firefighters were able to knock out a large portion of the fire with water cannons, but were concerned with the safety of the surrounding water vessels, so they called in county firefighting support to make sure the other boats or the dock did not catch fire from fire embers that were sent flying in the air.
In the eyes of Daniel Quinn, a host at the nearby Crab Pot restaurant, the start of the fire sounded like a huge explosion, as if “someone landed on the roof.” “There was a big bang and I looked up, and there was this ginormous plume of black smoke,” he said.
The victims of the fire had a lot of serious injuries, burns all over their bodies, and were flown to local hospitals by helicopter to get treatment. The bodies of the deceased women were preserved as best as possible and their families informed, with funeral plans coming up.
In order to contain any pollution and minimize environmental impacts, booms were placed around the boat to make sure a potential fuel or oil spillage was not released into the ocean.
After the fire was put out, rescue workers worked to put the boat on an isolation dock, but the boat started taking on water and became partially submerged. The officials at Long Beach say they are going to use a private salvage company to remove the boat from the water.
In addition to any trauma caused by the fire to the victims, firefighters will be offered mental health services to deal with any trauma resulting from the situation.
Source:
Boat fire kills two and injures three in Long Beach – Los Angeles Times
