SARASOTA (WSNN) – A beautiful Saturday morning on the Suncoast waters turns into a nightmare for a group of passengers on a boat that goes up in flames. But this story has a happy ending.
I spoke to the nine passengers who on board the vessel that caught fire all chimed saying it “Scary. Very scary.”
These nine passengers didn’t even get a chance to ride the waves before all hell broke loose.
“You saw black smoke just come from everywhere off the boat,” witness, Tony Hart said.
Saturday morning, Sarasota police, along with fire and rescue crews responded to a 24-foot vessel engulfed in flames in Sarasota Bay about 350 yards off the 10th Street boat ramp. Officer Michael Skinner says the boat experienced mechanical failures. It began when the boat owner heard the motor sputtering.
“He opened the hood, realized there had been smoke, turned on the blower, the blower was doing its job removing the smoke from the cabin, he then shut off the boat, turned it on again, began to make way, and the boat shut off,” Skinner said. “Again, he opened up the hood and realized the vessel was on fire.”
And in a matter of minutes, nearby boaters stepped in to help.
“Before we were all in the water, we had boats surrounding us to help us,” one of the nine passengers said. “We had immediate help.”
“Some good Samaritans from the Sarasota Sailing squad and local charter captains, and a jet ski were able to get some of the passengers from the vessel that was on fire into their point,” Skinner said.
The fire was put out in less than 10 minutes. No injuries were reported. Skinner says boat fires are not common in Sarasota.
“We don’t normally see fires this intense on a monthly or even yearly basis,” Skinner said.
“It shocked me because I wasn’t expecting it,” Hart said. “I come here all the time, but this is the first time I see something like this happen.”
Skinner says the boat is beyond repair and sitting in 10-feet of water.
“We’re going to monitor it to make sure it’s not leaking any fluids, fuels, or oils to make sure it’s not a marine hazard upon its removal.”
A close call for all on board, but everyone made it back to shore safely.
“Life is good, we’re alive,” one of the nine passengers said.
SPD says due to weather conditions deteriorating, Sea Tow may not be able to remove it until Monday. The Coast Guard also came in to help.
Officer Skinner said he doesn’t recommend putting out the fire on your own.
“We don’t want anyone putting themselves in harms way, especially knowing that there’s a lot of fuel on board. You have fiberglass burning, which is obviously toxic, and with the fuel on board, melting resin, we don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
Skinner says there were more than 100 gallons of unleaded fuel on the boat.
