Irondequoit, NY – No one was injured when a boat caught fire at the Rochester Yacht Club on Thursday.
Chief Kenneth Stavalone of the St. Paul Boulevard Fire District said the ship was completely submerged when emergency crews arrived.
Firefighters had to cut open certain areas of the boat to get to the source of the fire in the engine compartment, where it is believed the fire had started.
“These boat fires tend to be much hotter and more intense because of the synthetic petroleum-based materials that the boats are made of, whether it’s the plastic or the fiberglass in the resins,” Stavalone said. “They burn hotter and very quickly, so it’s more important to get a lot of water on them very quickly.”
Crews from the Rochester and North Greece fire departments helped prevent the fire from spreading to other boats. No further damage was reported.
“Because of the size of the boat, there will obviously be more material and more petroleum to burn,” Stavalone said. “Plus, it will be carrying additional fuel. As a precaution, we always notify the DEC because if any of these products enter the waterways, we also want to fix that as quickly as possible.”
The boat owner was not at the scene at the time of the accident.
The fire remains under investigation.
