Monday, July 31, 2017

Another "On a Dime"

It is easy to forget how fragile life can be when we are busy meeting the goals of the day, checking off the items on the list, or crawling into the life of some fictional character through a book, TV show or movie.  Yes, we may get interrupted by a bee sting, but unless and until we get a nasty allergic reaction, we tend to be strong and impervious and move on.

Hubby was working on our boat one afternoon a few days ago.  We had had some problems with the pump and I think he may have been checking that.  I was upstairs working on photos, which I do a lot.  He called me on his cell:

"You might want to come down and see this.  I have already called it in."

I grabbed the nearest camera and it had a telephoto, which was both a good thing and a bad thing.  I was unable to capture the true vastness of the plume of smoke, but I was able over the time to zoom in on the volunteers from our fire department that finally arrived, although sometimes a blurry zoom due to no tripod.  Hubby said he had heard a small explosion/pop as he was stepping out of our boat and turned to see what I saw below and that the emergency operator, who took his call a minute later, said he was the second person to call it in!


Neighbors up a few docks on our side of the river had seen two young people heading to the boat in flames and screamed at them to back off which they did.  There were small explosions from various containers going off while we waited for fire rescue.  Boats have fuel compartments and docks sometimes store fuel, so fires like this can be dangerously explosive.  People do not usually smoke in boat yards.


The fire was just a dock's width (about 5 feet) from the boat in the foreground.  I am still wondering if the hull on that boat was bent by the heat.


It took the firemen almost 15 minutes to arrive because as those of you who live on coastlines know, the roads are never straight but usually narrow and our fire station is only a couple of miles away.  They had to haul that heavy hose from some distance I am guessing.


Once they got the water on the bow and into the middle, the smoke began to immediately change to white and the heavy water brought it down onto the river.


We were surprised that the dock had not been so compromised that firemen could walk out and attack the fire from the side and rear.  You can see the platform on the stern is still burning.  Yep, they are brave...or oblivious.



They had pretty much put out the fire by the time the rescue boat arrived with its water pump.  No one was hurt, and we did not know the owners, but someone had said they appeared to be out of town.  This type of boat can cost from 25K to 50K, so I am hoping they were insured!  The very next day the hull was hauled away to protect future navigation.

Life changes on a dime even if you are not paying attention.

21 comments:

  1. I definitely do not think the firefighters were oblivious and they definitely are brave. It is unbelievable what they are willing to risk in order to save property. As long as lives are not in danger I say let it burn. You got some amazing photographs.

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  2. Such tremendous work being done by volunteer fire fighters all across Canada as well. Excitement on the lake but the kind you don't need.

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  3. We were on the houseboat at the lake and a high powered speed boat went roaring by us, just as he was turning into a cove, the engine sputtered, heard a pop, and we saw the driver & passengers dive off. They swam to shore when there was a loud boom and the whole thing went up in flames. People were fine, boat not so much. We called it in, along with others and stayed around to make sure everyone was Ok. Quite an experience. I agree with Granny Annie, if lives are not endangered let it burn. I don't want firefighters risking their lives for property.

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  4. Wow! I'm glad nobody is hurt. Your photos are outstanding, and News worthy.

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  5. Yes, it changes on a dime and often nothing to do with what we're thinking we're doing. Kismet doesn't always work as we wish.

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  6. The fire departments and wild land fire fighters are so courageous. I'm very grateful to them and for them. Good no one was hurt.

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  7. They fight what i fear, and i hold them in very high regard for that. Yes, i too hope the boat was insured.

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  8. The owners are in for a rude awakening when they return.

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  9. hoping no one was hurt.
    I know all about how things can change on a dime.

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  10. Your photos put us right on the scene. Looks like other boats escaped. good work on the part of the firemen.

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  11. Wow. Scary, all right.

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  12. What a frightening thing to witness. I hope the owner's had insurance but even if they don't, they should count themselves lucky that they were not on he boat when the explosion occurred.

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  13. Oh my god. Now that is alarming. I can't believe the pier held up like it did. You got some great shots!

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  14. That smoke was very impressive. Nice captures by you.

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  15. Life certainly can turn on a dime when least expected. It was lucky not more damages was done to the surrounding area and boats; and that no lives were lost.

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  16. I'm glad nobody was hurt, and you sure did get some exciting pictures to share. I do think firefighters are brave people. Thanks for sharing these!

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  17. Yikes! Amazing pictures, very sad event. I am glad that no one was injured though.

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  18. I imagine they were putting it out instead of letting it burn to prevent it from spreading. I've seen beach houses go up in flames but never a boat.

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  19. This is an excellent reporting job. Bravo.Yes, one can only hope that the dock and the next boat weren't melted. Usually this happens when a boat is being fueled. Perhaps in this case, a hose died of old age. Nice note about Alex. It's been over ten years of a horror story with him, and he still doesn't believe alcoholism is a disease.

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    Replies
    1. Mage, you and I could be sisters.

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    2. Yes, and that's why I wouldn't miss a word or shot you post.

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Take your time...take a deep breath...then hit me with your best shot.