Fires destroy 3 boats at Oyster Point Marina in South San Francisco

Fires destroyed three boats at the Oyster Point Marina in South San Francisco on Wednesday morning, authorities said.

The South San Francisco Fire Department said dispatchers received a call at about 7:20 a.m. about multiple boat fires in the Oyster Cove area. 

Arriving firefighters confirmed there were three boats fully involved and people in the water around the boats. The fire department said firefighters worked with the harbor masters to rescue four people from the water. One person was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

David, who works just beside the marina, did not want to appear on camera. He said he heard the screams for help.

"There were three boats pretty much smoking. They weren't close together. They were far apart," he said. "There was a person in the water screaming for help, and another neighboring boat came over and got him out of the water."

The fires were fully contained by 9:20 a.m. Containment booms were deployed around the burned boats to protect aquatic life and the cove from any leaking oil.

"Oyster Point had some booms, so we helped strategize the placement of the booms. There shouldn't be any pollution threat getting into the water ways," said Jayna Brunetti with the U.S. Coast Guard. "We are still conducting the rest of our investigation."   

David and other witnesses said the fire was so large, the smoke produced made it difficult to breathe.

"The fire was really high. And the smoke was really high, and the smoke was black and bellowing out," said David.

"It was frightening. Like, the smell of the smoke was bad," said witness Ron Chen. 

David said this was not the first incident he has noticed on the Marina. 

"There was a fire on the other side of the Bay over there where the buildings ... on the opposite side. And we don't know if that's a boat," he said. "We are kind of wondering if this was on purpose."

All three boats were declared complete losses. The cause of the fires was still being investigated, the fire department said.

Oyster Cove Marina used to be home to a community of boaters, but back in July of 2022, several dozen people living there received legal eviction notices from the property owner.

The owner was re-evaluating the long-term use of the marina and terminated all leases. Many accepted financial assistance to leave. The marina has been mostly empty since then. 

Lezla Gooden contributed to this story.

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• South San Francisco