Shortly after Robert and Yvonne Workman pulled their house boat away from the dock, about 200 yards into the channel, the right motor shut down. As they tried to restart the motor, something exploded and the fire erupted.
As Mr. Workman grabbed a fire extinguisher and headed toward the fire, it only took a moment to determine the fire was too large to put out with the extinguisher he had.
The Workmans donned their life vests and safely abandoned ship, which quickly became fully engulfed with flames. Clarksville Fire Rescue arrived on scene and put out the fire.
Police said the reason for the fire has not yet been determined.