SIMPSON BAY--A 45-foot catamaran, a cabin cruiser and a powerboat were destroyed by fire in Simpson Bay Lagoon late Wednesday afternoon when a fuel leak ignited on one of the boats as the owner was working on it, causing a major fire to spread instantly to the two other boats. Parts of the wooden dock also were destroyed.
The three vessels were located side by side at the end of the docks owned by the Erato family in front of American University of Integrated Science in Cole Bay.
According to information obtained on the scene, an individual named Marc Belege was attempting to take the fuel tank out of his boat due to a leak. His green powerboat Rhum Runner was between the other two. He had finished cutting the deck to remove the tank and was transferring the fuel to another container when there was a spark even though the cutting tool was turned off.
“I got flames on my leg and I thought there was going to be an explosion so I immediately jumped into the water and a boat picked me up. But when I saw it was not a big fire yet I tried to get on board again to put it out, and that’s when in a second the fire spread to the other boats,” Belege related.
Apart from Belege, who was treated for burns to his legs, no other persons were on board the boats or injured.
The Fire Department was assisted by the Coast Guard, a harbour pilot boat and private citizens in extinguishing the fire. A St. Maarten Sea Rescue vessel also stood by. Police and Maritime Affairs officials were present.
The fire started around 4:30pm and it took a little over an hour to get it under control. The catamaran Naughty Dreams was being looked after by Andrew Erato, but it is not known who the owner of the cabin cruiser was.
The Coast Guard said in its release on the incident that it had deployed two vessels to assist. On arrival powerboat Rhum Runner was completely on fire and spreading to Naughty Dreams and Lo Emma. The fire-fighters came on board the Coast Guard vessels with their hoses to get better access to the boats. The harbour pilot boat also assisted with its water cannon.
Around 7:15pm when the fire was finally out, the Coast Guard placed an oil boom around the area to prevent fuel and debris drifting into the bay. All three boats, including part of the docks, were completely destroyed.
