Accidents of the Week - August 24, 2024
BoatTEST publishes “Accidents of the Week” as a public service for our VIP Subscribers to acquaint them with potential boating dangers and by inference their prevention.
Crews Respond to Boat Blaze on Oregon’s Willamette River
8/15/24 – Portland, OR
A boat that caught on fire in the middle of Oregon’s Willamette River prompted a response from Portland Fire & Rescue late afternoon on 15 August.
Just after 4:30 p.m., crews traveled to the area south of Portland’s Hawthorne Bridge near the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) in response to reports that a boat was on fire in the middle of the water.
Overturned Candle Reportedly Lit Fire
Crews managed to quickly put out the fire and learned a swimmer near the boat had made it to shore safely. No injuries were reported. An investigation later determined the cause of the fire was an overturned candle.
No other details were immediately available.
Two Seriously Hurt in Crash Between Sailboat, Motorboat
8/16/24 – Boston, MA
Two people were taken to the hospital on 16 August after a boat crash off the coast of Grape Island in Weymouth, Massachusetts, officials said. The crash happened on Hingham Bay.
Fire officials said one person was rushed to a hospital in Boston and another was taken to a hospital on the South Shore, both suffering serious injuries. Both of those people were on a sailboat that was involved in a collision with a motorboat.
"Motorboating is extremely dangerous in general," said Scott Barber, who sails in the area routinely. "When you're under sail power, you usually don't have the ability to navigate as well as a motorboat, so I just hope both parties involved were paying attention as best they could."
A witness who saw the two victims brought back to shore in Weymouth told local reporters it appeared a woman was unconscious and a man had a serious gash to his leg.
Man Missing After Falling off Paddleboard in Strong Winds
8/10/24 – Clark Co., NV
A 58-year-old “wonderful” father and husband fell off his paddleboard into a Nevada lake and has been missing for days, officials said.
Gregory Bell was with a group of people paddle boarding at Lake Mead on 10 August, the Lake Mead National Recreation Area said in a Facebook post. Strong winds suddenly hit the area, sending all six of them into the water, officials said.
Everyone in the party was found except Bell, who remained unaccounted for, officials said.
Man, Child Dead After PWC Crashes into Florida Keys Seawall
8/13/24 – Key West, FL
A Miami man and a nine-year-old boy died after their personal watercraft (PWC) crashed into a seawall in the Florida Keys, on the evening of 13 August.
Just before 7 p.m., Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officers were called out to a single-vessel boating accident in Marathon. Preliminary information revealed that a 2018 Yamaha personal watercraft carrying the 47-year-old man and young boy had struck a seawall, and that both had died from their injuries, FWC told local news.
Officials did not share what the relationship was between the man and the boy.
Boat Crashes into Lake Michigan Breakwater
8/12/24 – Frankfort, MI
A boat crashed into the south breakwater at Frankfort, Michigan, on 12 August, after failing to exit the harbor.
Frankfort Fire Chief Mike Cederholm said his department had received the call about a boat crashing into the breakwater at 5:54 a.m., and the US Coast Guard Station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was also contacted.
Boat ‘Wedged into Rocks Pretty Good’: Fire Chief
"They lost their bearings and apparently mistook the middle of the pier for the end and drove right into the rocks," Cederholm said. "They were wedged into the rocks pretty good, and they were concerned the boat would sink if it was pulled off the pier." Cederholm said no injuries were reported.
The fire chief added that the boat owners had a salvage company remove the vessel. No legal action was taken against the boat's driver or passengers.
No Injuries Reported in Accidental Boat Fire
8/13/24 – Schenectady, NY
Smoke was seen for miles over Schenectady, New York, on the evening of 13 August, due to a boat fire on the banks of the Mohawk River.
Alplaus and Scotia Firefighters responded to the scene, and according to a Scotia firefighter on duty, the fire started on one boat and then spread to another. The fire chief of Alplaus Fire Department held a press conference at 8:30 p.m., saying he believed the fire, which destroyed two boats and caused minor damage to a couple more, was an accident.
No injury had been reported at the time of the press conference, according to the fire chief.
Charter Boats Help Fire Crews Rescue Two Boaters
8/18/24 – Saginaw Bay, MI
Charter boats helped fire crews rescue two boaters whose boat sank in Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay on the morning of 18 August.
The Fire Department in Kawkawlin, Michigan, received reports of a boat sinking in the shipping channel north of Saginaw Bay’s Linwood Beach Marina around 10:55 a.m. Fire crews spoke with the charter captains, who offered to bring firefighters out to search.
Fire crews from Kawkawlin and the Pinconning/Fraser Township Fire Department searched for a half hour before they encountered the boat sank down to the water line and two people in the water wearing life jackets.
Rescuers brought the boaters aboard the charter boats and back to shore, where an EMS crew from Northern Bay Ambulance treated and released both boaters.
One Killed After Fishing Boat Struck by Lightning
8/18/24 – Box Elder Co., UT
One person was found dead and two others made it to shore, after a lightning strike hit their boat, capsizing it and throwing its occupants into the water early morning on 18 August.
According to the Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office, three people were fishing on Utah’s Bear River at approximately 12:10 a.m. when their boat was struck by lightning, causing it to capsize.
Body Found Using Sonar
The office reported that two of the three had made it to shore and were transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The third person went under the water and did not resurface.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the body of the missing person was found at 5:30 a.m. by search and rescue crews using sonar. “It took about five hours of searching,” said Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Cade Palmer to local reporters.
Firefighters Extinguish Boat Blaze at California Lake Marina
8/18/24 – Paradise, CA
Firefighters were able to quickly extinguish a burning boat at Lime Saddle Marina on Northern California’s Lake Oroville on 18 August, after employees with the marina towed the boat over to the boat launch ramp.
CAL FIRE Butte Unit said that just after noon, dispatchers received reports of a small boat on fire at the marina. Firefighters from Station 35 in Paradise, California, and CAL FIRE Butte Unit responded to the fire.
Upon arrival at the scene, crews found a fully-involved boat that was burning in the water adjacent to the dock and houseboat slips. CAL FIRE explained that employees at the marina had assisted in the operation by towing the burning boat away from the slips and over to the boat launch ramp, where fire personnel were able to quickly extinguish the fire on the vessel.
Authorities said that there were no injuries to civilians or firefighters during the response, and that the cause of the fire was under investigation.