A boat fire that broke out Saturday evening at the Pope’s Island Marina was accidental, fire officials said.
According to a post on the department’s Facebook page, at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 30, the New Bedford Fire Department received 911 calls regarding a boat on fire at the Pope’s Island Marina on Route 6. When firefighters arrived, they found a 30-foot pleasure craft fully involved in fire.
Two bystanders had cut the boat free from its mooring so that the fire could not spread to two adjacent boats. The burning vessel then came to rest in an empty mooring.
When fire units arrived, “long hose lays along the standpipe connections were required to reach the involved vessel,” the post reads. Engines 1, 6, and 7, along with Ladders 1 and 3, Command Units 1 and 2, and Marine 38 all responded to the fire. New Bedford Police, Massachusetts Environmental Police, and the Fairhaven Harbormaster all assisted at the scene. The Rapid Intervention Team, a three-man crew designed to rescue downed firefighters from buildings, was also deployed with water rescue suits and water rescue equipment due to the icy docks, in the event someone slipped and fell into the water. A previous version of this story, based on the wording of the Facebook post, stated someone had fallen in; Acting Fire Chief Scott Kruger said no one had fallen in and that the post was re-worded to clarify that.
The boat fire was brought under control in approximately 30 minutes, but the boat is a total loss, the fire department said, noting that the cause appears to be accidental. The fire remains under investigation.

No one was injured in a Sunday morning fire that burned two boats at The Clipper Marina at 75 Palmer St., Quincy.
The fire started at about 8:40 a.m. There were no people aboard either boat. 
Deputy Fire Chief Tim Burchill said the fire started on one boat and then the blaze spread to the second boat. Both vessels were a total loss, Burchill said. 
Burchill said the only issue they had at the scene was with ice, due to the single-digit temperatures on Sunday morning. Three engine companies, two ladder companies and a rescue company responded to the single-alarm fire. 
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. 

No one was injured in a Thursday afternoon fire that destroyed a building and several boats at Meredith Marina.
Reported at 4:44 p.m., the two-alarm fire brought personnel and equipment from around the Lakes Region to the scene on the western shore of Meredith Bay on Lake Winnipesaukee, said Meredith Fire Chief Ken Jones, who was at the nearby Meredith fire station at the time of the call.
When he got to the marina, Jones said he observed heavy flames coming from a steel building used to service boats, which was unoccupied at the time, and, along with a boat inside, was later declared a total loss.
Because the building had not yet collapsed on its own, Jones requested that an excavator be brought in to knock it down. He said the cause and origin of the fire remain under investigation and that State Fire Marshall Paul Parisi had been notified.
Because of the possibility that gasoline, oil and other fluids from the marina may have leaked into Lake Winnipesaukee, Jones said that the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Resources was also contacted.
Although wind and below-freezing temperatures were factors as firefighters began an external attack, Jones said they were able to draw water from two hydrants near the marina.
Firefighters did, however, have to concern themselves with containing the spread of the fire to two other buildings at the marina, including one used for storage, and also to boats stored behind the service building.
Three of those boats were destroyed, said Jones, and two sustained heat damage, as did another boat in the storage building.
Employees were at the marina at the time of the fire, but they were all in an administrative office for a meeting when it started, Jones said.
Just after 6 p.m., Meredith Marina posted on its Facebook page that “Everyone is safe!”

Multiple fire departments responded on Sunday to a sailboat fire in the Santa Rosa Sound.
The fire began early Sunday in the water behind Clipper Cove town homes on Okaloosa Island, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office.
Someone lives on the sailboat, but was not aboard at the time of the fire. The boat was not docked, but moored to a seawall near the town house complex. 
There were no injuries, according to OCSO officials.
Firefighters from Fort Walton Beach Fire Department and Destin Fire Rescue assisted Okaloosa Island Firefighters. The Coast Guard, OCSO and Okaloosa EMS also responded to the scene.
The cause of the fire is not currently known. The State Fire Marshal's Office and Florida Fish and Wildlife are investigating.

Fire destroyed and sunk one boat and damaged two others on Thursday night, Jan. 21 in Cambridge's city marina, with clean up work at the site continuing into the weekend.
Investigators are still looking for the cause of the fire that gutted and sunk the 39 foot Topaz Flybridge that was moored in a slip in Cambridge Yacht Basin.
A passerby reported the fire at 10:50 p.m., and 35 firefighters from Rescue Fire Company put out the blaze in an hour with the assistance of Cambridge Police Department and Maryland Natural Resources Police, and fire boats from Oxford Fire Company, Tilghman Island Volunteer Fire Company and Neck District Volunteer Fire Company.
"The boat was well involved with fire and started to spread to each slip next to it," said RFC Chief Adam Pritchett. "Even with it docked, it was a struggle to battle since there was no way to walk around the boat," Pritchett said.
Once the fire was out and the boat sunk, a containment boom was placed around the boat to control fuel from the vessel, said Pritchett, who said that clean up crews were working on Saturday, Jan. 23 to remove the boat and continue the clean up process.
The State Fire Marshal's Office said the fire did an estimated $185,000 to the boat and $1,000 to the contents of the 1991 vessel owned by Charles Woodward.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Salisbury Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal at (410) 713-3780.
"In general, any boat fire is dangerous to deal with, we still have to wear the same gear and breathing apparatus to fight fire but have to take extra precautions for firefighters not to fall overboard," said the RFC chief.
"Limited access from the docks makes it hard to get where we need to place water on the fire," said Pritchett, who further explained that fiberglass boats continue to smolder, making fire boats with pumps an important asset. RFC currently has a rescue boat that does not have water pumping capability.

A docked boat caught fire Friday morning, sending flames to nearby boats and pushing a column of smoke into the sky that could be seen for miles.
Approximately 24 firefighters and emergency officials responded to the fire, including the Orange County Sheriff's Department Harbor Patrol.
Officials arrived at the scene at approximately 10:30 a.m. where multiple boats were fully aflame near the Galley Restaurant, Newport Beach Firefighters Battalion Chief Nic Lucas told Patch.
It took approximately five minutes to extinguish the blaze.
Maintenance workers were at the dock at the time of the fire, and one person sustained minor injuries as they attempted, unsuccessfully, to put out the fire, Lucas said.
There was major damage to the vessel. However, it is not yet known if the boat was a total loss.
Boats docked in that area range could range in value from $150,000 to $300,000, Lucas said.
As of this report, there was no known cause, and the exact amount of damages has not yet been released.

A boat sustained $10,000 in damage after an electrical issue in Abingdon Monday morning, according to the Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal.
Officials said someone aboard a neighboring boat at Otter Point Yacht Club in the 600 block of Otter Point Road heard a smoke alarm, then saw smoke coming from the cabin of the 35-foot long range cruiser.
He called 911 before 11:30 a.m., according to the fire marshal, who said about eight firefighters from the Abingdon Fire Company snuffed out the blaze in 10 minutes.
Investigators determined the fire began in the cabin console and was deemed accidental, caused by an unspecified electrical event. The owner was not aboard when the fire began, authorities said.
The Coast Guard only requires smoke alarms in the sleeping compartments of small inspected vessels that carry paying passengers, but there is no such requirement for recreational boats.
The Office of the State Fire Marshal recommends that all boat owners install smoke alarms in each sleeping area and outside each sleeping area or level of the boat, just as required in our homes," Senior Deputy State Fire Marshal Oliver Alkire said in a statement to Patch.
"For example, this boat's sleeping area was below deck, and the fire originated within the cabin's electronic console," Alkire said. "His only exit would have been blocked if he had been below deck."
Had the owner been asleep without a smoke alarm on the boat, "we could have had a very different and unfortunate outcome," Alkire said. "This simple device can save lives, and just as in this case, protect neighboring boats, docks, or structures if the boat is kept at a moorage. A smoke alarm is the cheapest insurance you can buy for your on-the-water home or pleasure craft."

Dark smoke could be seen billowing into the sky from the Bahia Mar Marina on Sunday morning.
According to Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, a 28-foot cabin cruiser had just completed fueling at the marina when flames erupted. Fire rescue was called to the blaze at 801 Seabreeze Boulevard around 10:43 a.m.
Two people and two dogs were on board, but fire rescue said no one was injured.
Investigators are looking into what caused the fire.

​Firefighters called to extinguish a boat fire in Brooklyn were shocked to find a dead man onboard, officials said.
The episode unfolded at 6:15 a.m. Saturday when cops and firefighters responded to a 911 call regarding a boat blaze at Pier 5 Marina in Brooklyn Bridge park, the NYPD said.
Upon arrival, firefighters doused the flames on the 52-foot Jefferson Recreational boat, but upon closer look an 86-year-old man was found “unconscious and not responsive” in the hull, police said.
The man was pronounced dead at Kings County Hospital.
The investigation is ongoing, and the city medical examiner will determine the cause of death, said police, who withheld the man’s identity pending family notification.

KEY WEST, Fla. – Eight people were reported unconscious on their boat near Garrison Bight Marina Sunday.
Their exhaust fan released so much carbon monoxide that the boaters were impaired, according to the Coast Guard.
A Key West Fire boat crew transferred the passengers to safety on shore for further medical assistance.
The Coast Guard wants to remind people to use caution while boating in cooler water temperatures.
“January is the coldest month in Florida where temperatures can range widely from day and night. Boaters know Jacksonville can get cool but not everyone thinks Key West can as well,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Evans Ahrens.
“People should be cautious when using generators or heating elements that they may only rarely use, particularly for those that live aboard their vessel.”
The Coast Guard recommends these safety tips:

• Check the water temperature and the weather before you head out.
• Leave a float plan with a friend or family member who is back on land.
• Keep a marine radio on board. Cell phones can be unreliable on the water.
• Have an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) to send out a distress signal.
• Wear a life jacket.
• Never boat under the influence.