Commercial boat fires make local headlines
Three separate fires aboard commercial fishing boat, spread over three corners of the country, made for powerful imagery for local news reports.
• Crews in Tarpon Springs, Fla., are looking at the long-term impact of a major three-alarm shrimp boat fire that affected another boat and led to thousands of gallons of oil being spilled near the sponge docks.
The 80-foot boat vessel, Skye Marie, was valued at $150,000 and was the livelihood of the boat owner Sue Harris, who told Action News the boat was not insured.
• Two crewmembers of the 36-foot lobster boat Miss Ellie escaped safely after the boat caught fire off the coast of Wells, Maine, just before 8 a.m. Wednesday.
The flames quickly engulfed the boat, which was four miles north of Boon Island Light, and the crew donned survival suits and climbed into a life raft, a Coast Guard spokesman said.
Click here for a report by The Press Herald.
• On the West Coast, investigators are blaming a welding accident for sparking a Tuesday evening fire aboard a 100-foot fishing boat near Seattle's Fisherman's Terminal.
A crewmember was using a welding torch below deck near the ship's stern when he accidentally ignited a fuel line just after 6 p.m., according to Kyle Moore of the Seattle Fire Department.
