Five people rescued from a pleasure craft on fire near Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
SAULT SAINTE MARIE, Mich. – Marquette Coast Guard Station rescued five people from a pleasure craft on fire near Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
On Saturday, July 29, around 10 a.m., while the Station Marquette 29' Response Boat crew was conducting a routine safety patrol near Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, they observed a 30' Cabin Cruiser actively smoking.
The boat crew immediately approached the vessel to render assistance and discovered the distressed vessel had suffered an engine fire. The boat crew quickly passed the vessel owner a fire extinguisher to combat the fire, which was unfortunately ineffective.
As the fire was quickly spreading, the Station Marquette boat crew promptly evacuated all five adults on board. Immediately after the evacuation was complete, the 30' vessel became completely engulfed in flame and was burned to the waterline. All five adults were transported safely to Cinder Pond Marina with no injuries.
A team of Pollution Responders from Sector Sault Ste Marie arrived at the scene this morning and determined that all diesel fuel on board the vessel had been burned in the fire and no pollution threat existed. A commercial salvage company has been contacted to remove the vessel's remains from the lakeshore on Monday.