<p>Oak Bluffs and Tisbury fire departments deployed firefighting boats to battle a blaze that consumed two sailboats on the Oak Bluffs side of Lagoon Pond Wednesday afternoon.</p>
Oak Bluffs and Tisbury fire departments deployed firefighting boats to battle a blaze that consumed two sailboats on the Oak Bluffs side of Lagoon Pond Wednesday afternoon.
All-out response included fire/rescue boats.
All-out response included fire/rescue boats.
The two fiberglass boats were moored together at the time of the fire off Lagoon Road. Reports of the fire came in at about 1 p.m.
“Both of them were fully involved when we got there,” said Oak Bluffs fire chief John Rose. “It got going really fast, it involved both boats really quickly.”
A plume of thick black smoke was visible for miles, and the smoldering fires inside the two vessels took more than an hour to extinguish.
There was an all-out response from Island fire departments and police, including the Oak Bluffs police and fire boat, the Oak Bluffs harbor master, fire departments and police from Oak Bluffs and Tisbury, and the Barnstable county sheriff’s marine unit.
Shellfishing will be banned until at least July 8 as precautionary measure.
Shellfishing will be banned until at least July 8 as precautionary measure.
Firefighters transported cans of firefighting foam from shore to the on-water fire scene. Chief Rose said the environmentally-friendly foam allowed crews to use less water to put out the fire, reducing the risk of sinking the burning hulls and possibly creating a pollution hazard or navigation danger.
Chief Rose said he is in the process of tracking down the owners of the two sailing vessels.
Tisbury firefighters put a pollution prevention boom around the burning boats, but Chief Rose was hopeful pollution will be minimal.
“It was just debris, there was no sheen on the water,” Chief Rose said. “The sailboats usually carry a small amount of fuel, and that probably burned off in the fire.”
Shellfish wardens in Oak Bluffs and Tisbury were not taking any chances, however. On the advice Oak Bluffs warden David Grunden, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries will close the lower Lagoon to shellfishing until an assessment can be made.
“We just don’t know what’s in the water,” Mr. Grunden said.
Shellfishing will be prohibited at least through Saturday, July 8.
Comments
I believe I was first to call
Barbara Kopans Lagoon pond. Oak bluffsI believe I was first to call 911 to report flames on one boat which I could see from my house. It took almost 20 minutes for any fireboat or Harbormaster boat to arrive at scene! That is why both boats were fully engulfed in flames when they finally arrived. I believe someone needs to answer to this appalling response time. (My husband started videotaping about five minutes after my call) Thank goodness no one on board.
First I agree thank god
Robert Brown EdgFirst I agree thank god nobody was on board the boats and I am a retired firefighter and emergency dispatcher here. As far as the response time my guess would be the following. When something of that magnatude happens this time of year EVERYBODY has cell phones and calls 911. There is usually only 2 dispatchers on duty to answer the incoming calls and believe me there are MANY. They have to get important information. Then dispatch the proper response personel. By the way there was question on which side of the town line it was on. Both OB and VH police,fire,ems, and HM's had to be dispatched (not as easy as it sounds). Then the firefighters after their pager is activated have to manuver through ALL THE INCREASED TRAFFIC THIS TIME OF YEAR in their private vehicles to get to fire apparatus (trucks and boats) then proceed to the location. There was a fire boat that responded from OB harbor and a fire boat from VH harbor. ALL RESPONDERS SHOULD BE APPLAUDED. Whether it was 20 minutes or maybe 10 because it always seems forever after you make that call for someone to get there it would not have mattered due to the location of the fiberglass boats and the location of the fire boats. Oh and OB had to have the million dollar bridge to go up so it could get in the lagoon. I hope this gives you a sense to your question
I appreciate the good work of
Barbara OBI appreciate the good work of our fire departments and the volunteer firefighters. Although,my husband and I and the neighbors who were watching with us do understand the problem of distance from Oak Bluffs Harbor, we could not understand why any official boats from Vineyard Haven did not arrive almost immediately. At the very least, the VH Harbor Master or some police boat should have been here to keep the many pleasure boats circling the burning boats from getting too close. It was a very dangerous situation with explosions set off by the flames and burning debris floating in the Lagoon. At the time we had no idea if anyone was on the boats. I certainly hope that this was not a question of jurisdiction. Also, as my husband began filming shortly after I called 911, he has the exact time that elapsed until the harbormaster and fire boats arrived. Yours and other people's responses have helped us better understand the issues of mobilizing volunteers, and we do appreciate their difficult and dangerous work. I'm sure that watching the situation from so close up and not knowing if anyone was on the boats did impact our reactions, and we are sorry if that was seen as a criticism of the volunteer firefighters from OB ad VH. It certainly was not meant to be. Perhaps this may start a dialogue about public safety in the Lagoon.
I was one of the first
Caroline Dosker Vineyard HavenI was one of the first "pleasure boats" to respond to the large amount of black smoke. The captain of our ship reported to the coast guard on a separate channel that there was no people on the boats. Within 5 minutes of our arrival one of the owners of the boats arrived via dingy. He was clearly unable to emotionally handle the situation but when asked clearly answered to me that no one was onboard. While I understand that the firefighters are volunteers, that should be even more reason for them to jump on the chance to help in such an emergent situation. Based on the location that we reported (north end of lagoon pond) and the fact that the team had recently practiced putting out a boat fire, I would hope that the response teams that are available would not experience such delays based on the size of a bridge.
I should also say fiberglass
Robert againI should also say fiberglass is extremely flammable in case you didnt know
I'm curious. What would you
Mr. B ChilmarkI'm curious. What would you consider to be an appropriate response time from the moment of your 911 call? How long to notify the department?
The department to sound the alarm and to get the boat manned and underway from the harbor and make the journey to Lagoon Pond and the site of the fire? Would you be surprised at the response time if you learned that it was a volunteer response and not a full-time, 24/7 marine fire team with an entire crew at the dock and ready to go?
Barbara, the call comes in
Lori F EDGARTOWNBarbara, the call comes in,the firemen get the call,they have to respond from work,fight the traffic,get to the boat/rescue vehicles,fight traffic again to get on scene,or to the rescue boat,then to the scene. We don't have them in the Firehouses waiting for calls,they are volunteers that leave there jobs/homes to respond. Considering its 4th of July week,with all the traffic..under 20 minutes seems pretty good! Thank you to all our Firefighters/EMS and Police for doing what they do.
Oak Bluffs has a long
Lynne Fraker Vineyard HavenOak Bluffs has a long distance to go and considering that, you should be grateful they have the equipment that they do. I have no doubt they came as fast as they could. This is the 3rd boat fire they have extinguished. Boats become engulfed in flames quickly because of the construction. The fire equipment on the Vineyard Haven Patrol boat, closer to the Lagoon, is a corroded piece of junk. That is a concern.
Given this is a volunteer
Islander OBGiven this is a volunteer fire department, made up 100% of year round folk, and given that most fires like this are either directly or just barely indirectly related to vacationers and their appetites, perhaps it is time to recruit volunteers from the "seasonal resident" crowd? We could have a fundraiser to buy a "fireboat" and let the seasonals take turns on watch. Still, I would not like to see harbor masters charging in to save burning boats. They are very hard to replace (harbor masters, not burnt boats) and with the cost of housing on island virtually irreplaceable. I think twenty minutes is darned impressive.
First, Mrs. Kopans , thank
Former Firefighter EdgartownFirst, Mrs. Kopans , thank you for reporting the event . Even in the best prepared harbor the response time would be 10 minutes at best. Second , this was a highly unusual event for the island . Thirdly , the response time for an average emergency event on this island is exemplary, and statistically amazing. And last but not least, the heart and soul of the emergency response folks on this island are volunteers . Just the facts and yes thank goodness no one was on board .
I have more than average
George H Fisher Oak BluffsI have more than average knowledge about the Oak Bluffs Fire/Police response boat since I was one of several individuals who obtained the original federal grant, designed the vessel and set up the initial response policies. A twenty minute response time to a Lagoon boat fire is remarkable in a positive way. Calculate it this way, the alarm is received, dispatched and the crew responds from home/work and fire station. Next they get the boat prepared and underway. Easily this is six to eight minutes, perhaps a bit more. Now they have to travel over three miles to get to the fire. At the boats best speed of just under 30 knots and allowing for harbor travel and getting through the bridge this is another ten to twelve minutes. So, dispatched, manned, underway and on scene in twenty minutes. Commendable in every regard. Thank you to my former crew for a job well done!
Completely agree George. Well
Derek B OBCompletely agree George. Well done!
Thank you George.
511 Oak BluffsThank you George.
As I ran all the social medias experts thoughts through my head. I too was working the math of distance and SOG, and average response to Red White & Blue's dock. I to am proud,of the bystander reported time. (Although rumor has it at, 14 mins from notification to on scene)
Barbara you put up the money
Ryan Tucker West TisburyBarbara you put up the money for fulltime departments on the island and the response time may be a little better. As many said there are lots of behind scene things that happen between moment 911 call is placed and arrival of units. The island is blessed to have the men and women that drop everything to help others. BLESSED.
I was out on my boat at the
BrooklynI was out on my boat at the time of the fire, and the smoke was crazy . it filled the sky, and you couldn't see much of the boats. It was such a horrible occurrence, thank god no one was on board.
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