Firefighters put out small boat fire in Port Townsend; official says larger blaze from spontaneous combustion avoided

Published 12:01 am Thursday, May 1, 2014

PORT TOWNSEND — East Jefferson Fire-Rescue firefighters extinguished a small fire onboard a dry-docked boat in the Boat Haven this week.

Two men on their way to the public restroom noticed smoke coming from a nearby boat and contacted Port Townsend Police Sgt. Joe Kaare shortly before midnight Tuesday, said fire department spokesman Bill Beezley.

Kaare requested fire department response and unplugged the electrical connection to the boat.

Firefighters boarded the Port Townsend-based fishing vessel, Ocean Belle, and found heavy smoke coming from below the decks of the 50-foot boat.

There, firefighters found a smoking black trash bag, which was removed from the boat and hosed down.

Workers had been re-gelcoating a freezer on the boat during the day, Beezley said.

“Rags soaked with activated resin had been placed in a trash bag and had spontaneously combusted overnight,” he said.

“Firefighters noted the presence of large containers of resin and activating agent near the smoking trash bag and believe that a potentially large fire was prevented.”