Boats Damaged, Destroyed In Marshfield Marina Fire
MARSHFIELD (CBS) – Investigators are trying to figure out what caused a two-alarm fire overnight at a marina in Marshfield.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Karen Twomey reports
Podcast
It broke out around 12:15 a.m. Thursday at Taylor Marine. Three boats were destroyed and four others were damaged. Preliminary estimates of the damage are around $700,000.
Marina owner John Taylor says most of the boats are in dry-dock for the winter and unlikely to have caught on fire accidentally.
"They're not gasoline boats so fumes and vapors don't exist," he told WBZ-TV. "It's pretty difficult for diesel to kick off the same way gasoline will."
"It makes you uncomfortable to think you're the victim of some random act of violence but I'm trying not to think that way until the State Fire Marshal says that's the case," said Taylor.
Homes on a nearby street were evacuated temporarily as a precaution, but no one was hurt.
It's not clear yet if the fire was set or if it's linked to 19 arson fires in southeastern Massachusetts this fall.
Arson investigators spent the day combing through the burned out boats. "It's way too early," said Marshfield Fire Chief Kevin Robinson, "but we have a lot of people working on this, and we'll do it scientifically".
Also Wednesday night, fire damaged a home on Central Avenue in nearby Humarock. Investigators do not believe that fire is connected to the marina fire, but say the case is under investigation.
At that home, the damage was minimal but appeared to start underneath the back porch.
WBZ-TV's Bree Sison and Bill Shields contributed to this report.
You can follow her on Twitter @BreeSison.
