Boat catches on fire at Schooner Island Marina in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey
WILDWOOD CREST, N.J. (CBS) – A boat went up in flames at Schooner Island Marina in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey, on Thursday afternoon.
The fire broke out aboard a 41-foot boat named "Luv-It" around 12:45 p.m.
The U.S. Coast Guard said the boat was docked at the marina's fuel station when the fire broke out.
Jim Hodder, of Doylestown, and his daughter were out on the water when they heard a boom.
"We were going under the bridge and we heard an explosion, and we realized it was at the marina. The weird thing was I just told them, 'I want to pull in and get gas,'" Hodder said.
The fire was placed under control around 1:15 p.m.
No one was on the boat at the time and no injuries were reported.
The Wildwood Fire Department said on Instagram that the fire extended to the dock and a small shed on the dock. The boat eventually sank because of the water being used to extinguish the fire, the department said in the post. There was a fuel fire on the water, too, that was put out with foam.
Fire boats from North Wildwood and Stone Harbor also responded to the fire, and emergency crews from several neighboring departments also responded, according to Wildwood Fire Department. Four marine employees were evaluated at the scene for smoke inhalation, but they all declined to go to the hospital, the fire department said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
