11:51 am: Fire is under control, according to Seattle Fire. No other boats were involved in the fire. Fire crews are beginning to wind down operations.
Earlier: Seattle Fire has responded on land and water for a “fully involved” boat fire at Shilshole Marina on Seaview.
According to the scanner, it’s a 30-foot pleasure boat on the “P” dock, and the fire appears to be contained to the boat itself.
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how in the world would a boat catch on fire during the rain we’ve been having?
That was a stupid comment.
The live aboard boats at the marina have electrical hookups, propane tanks and gas or diesel, so maybe one of those?
Don’t feed the troll
Great question Captain Obvious. I have another for you: how can there be so many homeless when we’ve already spent BILLIONS to end it?
I assume you were going for humor. You didn’t make it that far.
boat fires start from the inside and a 30′ boat would be covered
The fire on December 20th was NOT on a liveaboard vessel. In fact, the fire was put out very quickly by the Seattle Fire Department BECAUSE a liveaboard called 9-1-1 and reported it after the first explosion. Yes, I said explosion.
To your point, Dudeist, all of the boats at the marina have electrical hook-ups, not all use propane or other gases under pressure, and, yes, even the sailboats have gas or diesel on board. First, a chemistry lesson, diesel does not generally explode outside of a diesel engine (it’s a compressive explosion, not an internal combustion process that uses gasoline), so the presence of diesel on a boat is generally not a hazard. Lucky Duck had a gasoline engine. My point being, a boat hooked up to shore power is not itself a hazard, either. All shorepower connections are on circuit breakers, so it’s the stray electrical short on the boat that poses a hazard–just like all of the houses where non-liveaboards reside. There are more home fires caused by electrical shorts igniting flammable materials every year on shoreside homes than there are boat fires.
Liveaboards are just like you, but with the roof underneath. Liveaboards look out for each other. There are liveaboard families with children living at SBM, and older folks on fixed incomes, too. We should all be thankful that no one was aboard the (not so) Lucky Duck when this happened, rather than casting blame on hard-working, responsible vessel owners..
Comin’ in hot! What comment provoked this defensive tirade?
Why don’t you get on 16, you can try calling Gail in person… at least she shared her contact info….
It’s pretty clear here, there’s a lot of ignorance about the maritime industry and boats in general…. pretty sad for people to live in Ballard. I guess for these, just the image of being associated with boats is more important than the real thing… posers.
By the way, my guess on this boat fire is overheated bilge pump from continuous running with all the rain.
I prefer 69
with a family member?
Your guess is one good possibility, neighborhood. Another possibility that someone offered was a space heater, left unattended or overheating its circuit. Once a fire starts on a fiberglass boat, all it takes is a breach in the fuel line to cause this kind of damage.
Just tired of having to defend the liveaboard lifestyle, I suppose. The first supposition about the cause pointed directly at liveaboards, when we are far less likely to have such a problem. Facts are important.
you made this up, silly
Accurate. I think the defensiveness stems from generally negative views about liveaboards (blamed for fires, etc). The negative assumptions threaten the ability to liveabord, as Marinas raise fees and limit numbers, beyond even what state requirements are (which themselves have become more restrictive).
Whereas, having people, knowledgeable about boat hazards living at the marina saves lives. Liveaboards commonly come across emergencies before random security patrols do. They call 911 when fires start, secure boats coming loose of their mooring lines in storms, and hear the screams for help from people who fall in the water. My ex-wife heard the fading plaintiff pleas for help from a woman who had fallen over and was tangled in a line. She was going under. It was winter, and she would have died.
There are more boat fires on unattended boats because people leave heaters running to keep the boat dry and mildew free. There are many times more unattended boats than liveaboards in any marina.
Liveaboards a little sensitive about any story or inaccurate assumptions that ultimately threaten this way of living. A way of living that a Bainbridge Island study on low income housing described as the most affordable option. A way that should be expanded, not contracted.
In my opinion.
DARQMARK – I don’t think anyone here is blaming people who live on a boat for the fire. The camaraderie at most marinas is well known and admired by many.
Thanks, DarqMark. Yes, I reacted to the apparent reaction that this was caused by a liveaboard. You have more thoughtfully expressed my position.
Gail – I don’t think anyone is blaming liveaboards!
Just answering a question, I was.
Thank you for your clarification, Dudeist. I hope you can see, though, that when you premised your hypothetical cause of the fire with “live aboard boats,” it implied that non-liveaboard boats did not have fuel, etc., on board. This suggest, perhaps unintentionally, that a liveaboard was the cause. I probably take this too personally, as well, but DARQMARK did a far better job than me in explaining why.