Quick thinking by an off-duty Sitka firefighter may have prevented a boat fire from becoming a major disaster in a local harbor Friday night.
Deputy fire chief Al Stevens says Michelle Snowden, an engineer with the department, had just moved onto a liveaboard in Crescent Harbor when she heard the department-wide tone-out — or emergency paging signal — that a boat was burning on another finger.
He says Snowden ran down the dock, assessed the situation, and acted.
“And having the firefighter ability she has, she was able to lay out the hoses and get the fire out before the engine even arrived.”
The 24-foot sport fishing boat was fully involved when Snowden arrived, and a neighboring vessel had also sustained damage. Stevens says Snowden’s being in the right place at the right time, plus her quick thinking, prevented the situation from growing much worse.
“It certainly had all the recipes for being a disaster because winds were pretty steady at 20-25 knots with gusts to about 30. It was one of those windy nights, and did do damage to the boat next door, but it was limited right there to the two vessels.”
Stevens suspects faulty wiring in the battery compartment may have arced and started the blaze, but he hasn’t ruled out some of the other electrical equipment on board. The fire burned a through-hull fitting, causing the boat to start sinking, but Stevens says Harbormaster Stan Eliason was able to keep the boat afloat with portable pumps.
Stevens says his department mobilized to fight fire, but — to everyone’s good fortune — went home a little disappointed.
“Everybody showed up but there was no fire to put out. Michelle had it all out.”
The Harbor Department assisted the vessel’s owner in hauling it out on Saturday morning. The boat appears to be a total loss.
