Bad boat fire
 

Anyone have details of the bad boat fire, at the dock behind the break wall halfway between WAM and Little Mark island yesterday afternoon? It was quite serious with flames visible from quite far away and smoke towering into the sky. We saw it from Sleeper's Sandbar.

I felt bad for the emergency vehicles that were trying to get in close through the dozens of boats that approached real close to watch/assist. We ere carefule to stay more than a half mile away to not further complicate the situation, and we never stopped to watch.

I sure hope this was only a boat/dock issue and that no person was hurt.

If this is the same incident that the Alton FD responded to in the afternoon it was a jet ski, apparently the guy was performing some mechanical work on it and it caught fire.he was burned and taken to the hospital but to what extent I'm not sure. Hope he's ok....

That was my step dad. He was changing plugs on his 15+ year old sea-doo GTX and the vapors ignited and blew in his face. Luckily he is ok. 1st degree burns from his waist up and 2nd degree under his armpits. No more eye brows but somehow his mustache is still intact.:confused: He's down at Mass General today for possible skin graphing under his armpits. I'll post updates to his well being as I learn more.

Wow that's crazy! All the best to your step dad.

Well wishes for a speedy recovery!!

We all hope for a fast and full recovery.

Hope your stepdad recovers quickly. I'm trying to understand how changing plugs ignites the vapors? Did he test for a spark with the ignition? What was the ignition source is what I'm getting at.:confused:

A good example of why it's always a good idea to use that blower before firing up your engine. I for one am really bad when it comes to doing that... I'm sure I'm not the only one!

True... We've all done it.
I witnessed the results first hand of what happens when you don't use the blower.. Let's just say the boat stopped burning when it got to the water line :(

Blowers are good advice in general, but a Seadoo GTX is a personal watercraft and probably doesn't have a blower.

I'm not sure about the how. Initially it wouldn't start so he replaced the plugs...still wouldn't start. Whatever he did to try and get it to start after that is what caused it.

The GTX doesn't have blowers but I know the seat and the storage compartment were off and out. We are just glad he's OK.

Not sure what year the PWC was, but I had a 99 Sea Doo GTX that had grounding posts on it. If you had to pull the plug wires, you would plug them onto the post so as to avoid this type of thing.

Unfortunately it is somewhat common with PWCs, as there is no way to vent the engine compartment. Fuel vapors don't rise, they sink.

It was a 94-96 I'm pretty sure. Interesting. Especially the part I put in bold. Thanks for the information!

I know my Yamaha does not have any blower but I always wished it did. Pulling the seat reveals a very strong fuel odor. This is actually the recommended procedure before starting.

Sorry to hear that. Glad he will be okay.. prayers for a speedy and not too painful recovery :)

Thank You. He had his follow up at Mass General on Thursday. No skin graphing so he'll only get better from here. Thanks for all the warm wishes everyone!

No skin graphs are good their painful I understand...

http://i44.tinypic.com/1499wms.gif WhatTheTom, I just noticed that you are fairly new to posting on the forum and glad you have joined us. Have fun and enjoy the Winni Forum while making many new friends. I’m glad to hear that the step dad is doing well. Best wishes are being sent with this welcome.:)

http://i54.tinypic.com/2e56yqf.gif

Thanks RLW! I've been watching this forum for quite some time but didn't really have much a reason to get involved in the conversation until I saw this thread pop up. Figured it was a good time to finally sign up ;)