Viral alert: a boat caught fire at Lake of the Ozarks on a busy Memorial Day Tuesday.

The driver and passengers, including children, safely got off the boat before it exploded and then sunk.

"Something didn't seem right, they lifted the hatch and then we had fire," said Tow Boat US Captain Charles Meyer.

Charles Meyer never knows what to expect at work, but it certainly was not this.

"It's just one of the things we do if we can help. The adrenaline is kinda up.

We knew it was a lost cause. Really we didn't put the fire out, the lake did," Captain Meyer stated. He and others remember the fire being huge.

"Got on a jet ski and went out, saw a big cigarette boat that looked like it got torched. It looked like it exploded actually. There was a huge part of the hull that was gone," stated Charlie Murphy, said a man who saw the boat catch fire.

Thankfully no one was hurt.

"They had 10 people on the boat and they all got off safely, several children. There was enough time for them to get off. They were smart enough to know they don't want to be on for very long," continued Captain Meyer.

Troopers said the fire started inside the engine compartment. This is Captain Meyer’s best advice for you. This boater said he did and it has helped him be safer.

"Knowing where the fire extinguisher is, knowing what to do in case of emergency, knowing if it's burning down to get off the boat. I think more people should do it though," Murphy said.

Captain Meyer said he thinks this was an accident and that is why you need as much preparation before you get on a boat.

"You can't completely think that you're going to be able to be out here and be perfectly safe because you're on the water. I don't care where you are. I don't care what ocean you're on. I don't care what lake you're on. I've been on many, many oceans and many, many lakes. Things happen. That's inevitable," Captain Meyer finished.

Again boat workers said accidents can happen anywhere whether on Lake of the Ozarks or dry land, so be safe and have fun. Workers at a towing company said that 37 foot boat is still underwater. The plan is to recover it next week. Again no one was hurt when it exploded.

It was a close call for a boating party on the Mississippi River Sunday as the boat they were riding in exploded at a fueling station. 

According to the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office the explosion occurred when the driver started the engine after getting gas at the River Heights Marina, eventually drifting under the Rock Island Swing bridge while still on fire.

“It went from a light amount of smoke to engulfed in flames,” said Jess Rodgers who manages nearby restaurant Mississippi Pub.

After failed attempts at putting out the flames with a fire extinguisher, the owners were forced to untie the boat and get it away from the fueling station. No one was in the cabin when the explosion occurred, and everyone made it to safety.

 “The owner was holding onto the front of it with their rope and he just let it go. He finally just had to let it go,” said 17-year-old Brad Dohmen, who was working at the fueling station.

Dohmen said he had just pumped 110 gallons of gas into the 35-foot cabin cruiser when the explosion occurred.

“They paid for the gas and went to untie, and I turned and the windows blew out and exploded,” Dohmen said.

“At only 17 he really stepped up and did a fantastic job, kept calm,” said Rodgers, who gave Dohmen credit for immediately heading for the emergency gas shutoff.

The Dakota County Sheriff said the bridge only suffered minor damage and reopened to pedestrian traffic Monday morning after passing an inspection.

The boat eventually floated south of the bridge and sank. The owners will be responsible for recovery.

A fire that sent a massive plume of thick, black smoke into the air above a Charleston marina on the Ashley River sank one boat and damaged another Monday morning.

Two or three people were on a 32-foot recreational boat when it caught fire in the water near the fuel docks at the Harborage at Ashley Marina, Charleston interim Fire Chief John Tippett said.

“They’re kind of in shock, but they’re not injured,” he said of the occupants, who escaped before the boat sank.

The front of an adjacent 50-foot boat and a portion of the dock were also damaged in the fire. Tippett said the second boat is salvageable. No one was on that vessel at the time.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. 

Seven people and one dog had to be rescued at Kentucky Lake over Memorial Day weekend.

According to the Marshall County Rescue Squad's Facebook page, they were paged to a boat that was on fire and taking on water near Smith Bay.

Everyone, including the dog, was brought back to shore uninjured. The cause of the fire was not released.

East Marshall Fire Boat, South Marshall Fire Boat and the Coast Guard also assisted in the rescue.

 A day on Lake Lanier ended suddenly for three boaters Saturday afternoon after their vessel caught fire.

Hall County Fire Services said they responded to the Van Pugh Campground on Lake Lanier around 1:30 p.m. Firefighters found a boat fully involved drifting towards the park.

The three boaters on board were able to make to another vessel safely.

The boat was completely destroyed in the blaze.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
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No injuries were reported.

Coast Guard crews rescued two boaters from a yacht on fire Friday near Fisherman’s Island.

Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads watchstanders were notified by the boaters through radio that the 50-foot yacht Delgatie was on fire and the boaters needed help.

The Coast Guard requested an MH-60 Jayhawk crew divert to the scene. Two 45-foot Response Boat-Medium boat crews from Station Little Creek and Station Cape Charles also responded, along with a Virginia Beach Fire Department fire boat crew and a York County Fire Department boat crew.

The MH-60 crew hoisted the two people from the yacht. They were taken to Coast Guard Base Portsmouth to be evaluated for injuries. The Virginia Beach fire boat crew and Coast Guard crews remained on the scene to extinguish the fire.

“Our relationships with other response agencies allowed us to successfully work together to assist the boaters and bring them to safety,” said Petty Officer First Class Brian R. Richardson of Sector Hampton Roads. “The boaters did everything right; they used their radio, and it led to their rescue.”

The yacht is currently anchored and owners are working to salvage it.

A boat fire off the Mississippi Gulf Coast is now out after authorities responded to it early Saturday afternoon.

According to Department of Marine Resources, the boat caught fire near Horn Island.  Melissa Scallan with DMR says a boat from the National Parks Service also responded to the call and helped remove the boaters from the watercraft.

Two boats from DMR are on the scene, as well as Biloxi Fire Department.

Witnesses say heavy black smoke could be seen pouring from the watercraft and authorities had a large section of the water surrounding the boat cordoned off, preventing anyone from getting too close. 

Officials say the 40 foot sport fishing boat sank once the fire was extinguished. It is not known at this time what caused the fire, or if there were any injuries. ​

An overloaded power strip is believed to be the cause of a houseboat fire that killed a Scottsboro couple and their dog.
Fire officials believe John Bruce, 79 and his 69-year-old wife, Emily, were sleeping on their houseboat at Goose Pond Colony Marina when the electrical fire broke out early Monday.
"The fire appeared to start in the main quarters sitting area of the houseboat, igniting a couch," Scottsboro Fire Chief Gene Necklaus said in a news release. "The majority of the fire damage was confined to this area, with the sleeping areas of the vessel experiencing significant smoke damage. The cause of ignition appears to be electrical in nature, starting from an overloaded power strip."
The couple's dog "Lou" also was killed in the fire.
Fire Chief Gene Necklaus identified the victims as John Phillips Bruce, 79 and Emily Nelson Bruce, 69.
Necklaus said the couple likely was sleeping when the fire broke out. The blaze may have awakened the Bruces, who attempted to escape before being overtaken by the smoke and heat, the chief said. Smoke inhalation is believed to be the cause of their deaths.
No working smoke alarms were found in the boat, which was the Bruces' full-time home.
"The fire department would like to remind everyone of the importance of working smoke alarms wherever they sleep, including boats, campers and RVs," the chief said in the news release.

Many of us will spend the coming months out on the water. Which means you need to be aware of your surroundings and stay safe. A report our news team did recently really opened my eyes to something I had not considered. 
A young woman in Columbus County died last year in what was first thought of to be a drowning.  She slipped off the back of a boat in Columbus County.  
But, it turns out it was carbon monoxide poisoning, which really surprised me.  I had assumed you could only face that danger in an enclosed space, but it’s a real danger in the back of certain styles of boats. 
Now, the young lady’s family and emergency responders are trying to raise awareness to this hidden danger.    
And also, please make sure to stay safe while enjoying your time in the sun this summer. 

JUNEAU, Alaska (KTUU) - A fire spread across three fishing vessels docked at the North Cove marina in Craig over the weekend.

According to a statement made by the United States Coast Guard, the fire was initially reported at approximately 3:30 a.m. on Sunday.

The three ships involved in the fire have been identified as the 57-foot fishing vessel Seaborn, 56-foot fishing vessel Pacific Lady and the 49-foot fishing vessel Julia Kae.

All three ships were docked near each other, and the fire seemingly spread from one to the next.

In their statement, the coast guard identified the capacity for fuel that each ship was equipped with. It said that an oil spills or sheening on the water "appears to be minimal, but boom has been deployed around two of the vessels."

No one was injured in the fires, and the ships were doused by emergency first responders. The coast guard says that the fire is still under investigation, and it is not currently known what caused the fire.

While the fire was contained and eventually extinguished, the boats sustained damage that will require sizable maintenance. The exact extent of the damage to all three boats is still being determined.

A spokesperson with Capital City Fire and Rescue wrote on social media about the fire, saying, "This not only impacts the livelihoods of the families that owned the boats but the community as a whole."