A wooden boat undergoing renovations in the Port of Port Townsend Boatyard caught fire Saturday night, Feb. 7, and a worker attempting to extinguish the blaze fell from the boat, and was pulled to …
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Brian Tracer (left), East Jefferson Fire Rescue assistant chief and Nehemiah Killam, resident volunteer, lower a fire extinguisher from the deck of the 40-foot Interprise after a blaze started after 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7 at the Port of Port Townsend Boatyard. Photo by Crystal Craig, East Jefferson Fire Rescue
The 40-foot workboat Interprise's bow area was damaged by a blaze started as workers had been using a blowtorch on the wooden hull, according to an East Jefferson Fire Rescue investigator. A worker fell from the boat deck while attempting to fight the initial blaze, shortly after 9 p.m. Feb. 7. Photo by Crystal Craig, East Jefferson Fire Rescue
The 40-foot Interprise, (under cover at right) has been at the Port of Port Townsend Boatyard since last fall, undergoing renovations. Fire investigators said blowtorches being used on the wooden hull started a small fire. Photo by Crystal Craig, East Jefferson Fire Rescue
A wooden boat undergoing renovations in the Port of Port Townsend Boatyard caught fire Saturday night, Feb. 7, and a worker attempting to extinguish the blaze fell from the boat, and was pulled to safety by police officers.
East Jefferson Fire Rescue was alerted to the fire at 9:09 p.m. Feb. 7 after Port of Port Townsend security personnel Pete Parrish heard a man yelling “fire” while on patrol and called 911. Upon arrival, firefighters began an offensive attack and knocked the fire down within 15 minutes, according to Bill Beezley, EJFR public information officer. The fire in the bow of the vessel caused "moderate damage," Beezley told the Leader Feb. 9.
Parrish told first responders that he arrived to find the worker on the ground amid a jumble of scaffolding and materials; in great pain from a fall and awkward landing he had taken, according to Beezley.
"He fell when he was trying to fight the fire," Beezley said. "He was using a small white fire extinguisher."
Port Townsend police officers Patrick Fudally and Jeremy Vergin arrived shortly thereafter and saw the man laying on a ladder a few inches above the ground under the bow of the boat. "I could see some sparks [from the fire] falling off the bow onto him," officer Fudally told the Leader.
The worker had injured his ankle, and the police officers dragged him to safety and an arriving ambulance. There was another boat worker also on scene.
The injured worker reportedly was suffering from smoke inhalation, Beezley noted. The man's name was not made available by EJFR, due to medical privacy rules.
Port of Port Townsend Executive Director Larry Crockett told first responders that the vessel, a 40-foot wooden workboat named Interprise, had been in the yard undergoing renovations since last fall.
EJFR Assistant Chief Brian Tracer led the investigation into the fire's cause. He stated that workers had been using a blowtorch to take old paint off the hull when one noticed some embers. After attempting to put them out with his hand, the man eventually grabbed a small fire extinguisher to attack the fire.
Although it is common to use an electric heat gun to prep paint for removal, blowtorches are also used because it speeds up the process. The danger, Beezley noted from this fire, is that the caulking stuffed between the planks, made of cotton or other material, "catches [fire] occasionally."
