A 42-foot recreational vessel sank to the oceanB次元官网网址檚 floor early Thursday morning after catching fire in UclueletB次元官网网址檚 small craft harbour.
Ucluelet Fire Chief Rick Geddes was the first responder to arrive at the scene at the outer boat basin around 1:30 a.m. and said the vessel was fully engulfed when he arrived.
B次元官网网址淎 big fear was the proximity to the other vessels around it, because there are some people sleeping on those vessels,B次元官网网址� Geddes told the Westerly B次元官网网址. B次元官网网址淥ne of the biggest things we want to try to figure out is if thereB次元官网网址檚 somebody on that vessel and is there anybody on any of the surrounding vessels. Thankfully, Harbour Master Kevin Cortes was down there as well as heB次元官网网址檚 very in tune with whoB次元官网网址檚 on what vessel and was able to fill us in on that.B次元官网网址�
He said 10 members of the Ucluelet Volunteer Fire Brigade spent roughly three hours fighting the blaze, which was being pushed towards the dock by heavy winds.
B次元官网网址淚t was quite concerning as the vessel started to go under, what was left of the fuel released into the water and that caught fire, so the fuel was actually burning on top of the water,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚t was very high winds as well, so it was actually blowing back towards the pier and did significant damage to the pier.B次元官网网址�
UclueletB次元官网网址檚 fire crew and saved that vessel from sinking, but Geddes explained they could not do the same with the fibreglass vessel on Thursday.
B次元官网网址淚t was a fibreglass hull vessel and it had already breached the upper part of the hull so there is, of course, environmental concerns as well as the actual fire damage,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭he odds are that in any significant fire the fibreglass hull is going to melt through eventually, which this one did. We tried to minimize water that we put on, but this one was bound and determined to sink. ItB次元官网网址檚 in the harbour on the ocean floor.B次元官网网址�
No injuries were reported and no other vessels were damaged.
B次元官网网址淥nce again, my team did me extremely proud. They hung in there until the end. A lot of these members need to be at work this morning because itB次元官网网址檚 not an option for them to get out of it so theyB次元官网网址檙e going to work on very little sleep,B次元官网网址� Geddes said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 just amazing the amount of time and effort that these members give back to the community and the skill level that theyB次元官网网址檙e showing is just amazing. IB次元官网网址檝e been in the fire business for over 20 years now and seen quite a few fires in that time; this department is as good as any IB次元官网网址檝e seen and IB次元官网网址檓 very proud of that.B次元官网网址�
Harbour Master Kevin Cortes commended the volunteer firefighters for how well they handled the situation.
B次元官网网址淲hat they did was fantastic,B次元官网网址� Cortes told the Westerly. B次元官网网址淎t times, the harbour was on fire and they were able to control it. I think they did a phenomenal job this morning.B次元官网网址�
Cortes said the owner of the vessel had insurance and is expected to cover the costs of removing the vessel.
He added that the dock is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, which will organize the necessary repairs after assessing the damage.
andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
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