The Best of the Bay

Flames and heavy smoke engulf a powerboat in close proximity to other docked boats. Photo: Susquehanna Hose Co. Water Suction Discharge Hose

A large fire broke out aboard a powerboat at Tidewater Marina in Havre de Grace Friday morning, apparently just after the boat’s operator had filled up its tank with fuel.

Smoke could be seen for miles as the boat, a 36-foot 1998 Mainship according to Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP), burned at the dock.

The Susquehanna Hose Company rushed to the scene by boat at 100 Bourbon Street in Havre de Grace. The volunteer fire department reported the boat, called Paddington, well involved and against the fuel pumps. The fuel pumps were shut down as fire crews worked to knock down the fire.

The two people who had been on the boat were thankfully not aboard at the time it went up in flames. No one was injured.

Once fire volunteers extinguished the fire by noon Friday, NRP officers towed it safely away from the dock. Harford County Department of Emergency Services Hazmat was called due to fuel runoff from the burning boat.

The Office of the Maryland Fire Marshal’s office is investigating the cause of the fire. NRP spokesperson Lauren Moses tells Bay Bulletin that officers on the scene said “the operator should have left the blowers on longer” after fueling the boat.

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