Witnesses recount boat fire, rescue on Moses Lake
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake Fire Department firefighters put water to a recreational boat that caught fire shortly after noon near the dock at Blue Heron Park. Nearby boaters rescued the occupants and there were no injuries.
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake fire fighters tow a recreational boat that caught fire shortly after noon on Thursday near the dock at Blue Heron Park. The fire department brought the boat closer to the shore after letting it burn down in the middle of the lake to extinguish it with ground support. There were no injuries.
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald Boarters in the vicinity look on a recreational boat that caught fire shortly after noon on Thursday near the dock at Blue Heron Park. Occupants were rescued and there were no injuries. Cause has yet to be determined.
Boaters safe, I-90 closed both directions
By RICHARD BYRD
Staff Writer
MOSES LAKE — A recreational boat is a complete loss following a fire on Moses Lake on Thursday. There was no reported injuries and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
The fire broke out on the recreational boat underneath the Interstate 90 bridge in Moses Lake near Blue Heron Park shortly after noon closing I-90 in both directions. Moses Lake Fire Department Chief Brett Bastian said initially it appears the boat was not traveling at a high rate of speed when the fire broke out. Richland resident Brian Carpenter was out boating on Moses Lake near the Alder Street Fill with his wife and twin daughters shortly after the fire broke out. He said he put his boat into overdrive when he saw the flames and smoke billowing out of the boat.
“I wanted to help out in any way that I could because I've actually got two fire extinguishers on board, but luckily there was a bunch of other boaters out there to help. It was a scary thing because the boat is a tad smaller than mine and I know the same could happen on my boat,” Carpenter said.
“Looking at it, it really doesn’t look like there was much that they could have done. Nevertheless, I am going to be making sure that each and every time we go out boating in the future that my girls know what to do if there is a fire on our boat,” Brian Carpenter’s wife, Alyssa, added.
Another boater was able to pickup the occupants of the boat and bring them safely to shore. The boat started drifting off further down the lake and the MLSD initially sent out a couple of firefighters on the department’s search and rescue skiff to knock down the large flames with an extinguisher, as there was a fear of toxins going into the lake.
When that didn’t work firefighters towed the boat back to shore, where they were able to use fire hoses to stomp out the flames. When the boat was near the shore at Blue Heron Park the MLFD used what Bastian called a “containment boom,” which is a temporary floating barrier used by fire departments to contain an area after an oil spill. A tow truck was called to extract the boat from the water, but the vessel was a complete loss and not salvageable, which was an outcome that most witnesses expected. Moses Lake resident Laura Roberts was at Blue Heron Park swimming with her toddler son when the fire broke out.
“I heard a big commotion and saw a bunch of people jogging over to the big dock. We went over there and instantly I felt worried for the people on the boat, but someone told me nobody was hurt and I was instantly relieved. Those flames were big and if anybody had been stuck on that boat, there is no doubt in my mind they would not have survived.”
Video: https://www.facebook.com/cbherald/videos/10157487480118222/
Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.