A boat caught fire Wednesday night at the Umatilla Marina, leaking fuel and damaging part of the dock and roof structure.
Umatilla County Fire District #1 (UCFD#1), along with the Umatilla Rural Fire Protection District, received a call of a boat on fire around 9:25 p.m.
Upon arrival, crews found a 32-foot boat fully engulfed in flames and approximately a third of the way out of the marina’s boat slips.
UCFD#1 Fire Chief Scott Stanton was on the scene and said crews had to open two lock gates on the ramp to the slips then extend hose lines to the fire. Stanton said firefighters had to battle not only the boat fire but a flammable liquids fire from leaking gas.
“The boat eventually sank, leaving just a flammable liquids fire on top of the water,” said Stanton.
The fire also caused damage to part of the dock as well to the roof structure over the slips. Stanton said the HAZMAT team was dispatched out of UCFD#1 to handle fuel leaking.
“Once all fires were put out, the HAZMAT team placed booms in the water to contain the fuel leaking and contacted the proper authorities such as the Coast Guard, county river patrol . . . and Washington Department of Ecology to name some,” said Stanton.
Three fire engines and one fire boat were called to the scene. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
