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Fire destroys 1 boat, damages 3 in Brick
By Matthew McGrath • TOMS RIVER BUREAU • July 8, 2009
BRICK — Fire destroyed a boat and damaged three others docked at the Trader's Cove Marina off Mantoloking Road on Wednesday night.
The fire started on a powerboat called the Luhrs and spread to the Main Ship, Yellow Fin and Good News Travels. The Luhrs was destroyed and eventually sank.
Al Mogavero, here, said he was on the Luhrs preparing to take a friend and the friend's children for a ride. He said the boat is owned by another friend, Juan Carrera.
Mogavero said he fueled the boat and started the engines, but because they were running hot, he turned them off. Then he heard a pop and saw flames leap from the starboard engine, he said.
He said he tried to put out the flames with a hose, but the fire kept spreading. A fire extinguisher was obtained from a vessel on a boat lift, the Miss Delores of Bath, N.C., but the fire became so hot and large he feared the fuel tank would explode, Mogavero said.
The blaze was reported at 9:17 p.m., said Kevin C. Batzel, chief of the township Bureau of Fire Safety.
"Everything right now points to an accident, some type of mechanical failure," State Police Sgt. Jay Boyd said.
State Police marine officers are investigating because the boats were in the water.
Boyd said the state arson unit will investigate, and the state Department of Environmental Protection will test the water to determine if there is any pollution from the fuel tanks on the boats or the foam used to put out the blaze.
Late Wednesday night, officials were determining whether to leave the vessels in the water or remove them for environmental reasons.
No injuries were reported.
By Matthew McGrath • TOMS RIVER BUREAU • July 8, 2009
BRICK — Fire destroyed a boat and damaged three others docked at the Trader's Cove Marina off Mantoloking Road on Wednesday night.
The fire started on a powerboat called the Luhrs and spread to the Main Ship, Yellow Fin and Good News Travels. The Luhrs was destroyed and eventually sank.
Al Mogavero, here, said he was on the Luhrs preparing to take a friend and the friend's children for a ride. He said the boat is owned by another friend, Juan Carrera.
Mogavero said he fueled the boat and started the engines, but because they were running hot, he turned them off. Then he heard a pop and saw flames leap from the starboard engine, he said.
He said he tried to put out the flames with a hose, but the fire kept spreading. A fire extinguisher was obtained from a vessel on a boat lift, the Miss Delores of Bath, N.C., but the fire became so hot and large he feared the fuel tank would explode, Mogavero said.
The blaze was reported at 9:17 p.m., said Kevin C. Batzel, chief of the township Bureau of Fire Safety.
"Everything right now points to an accident, some type of mechanical failure," State Police Sgt. Jay Boyd said.
State Police marine officers are investigating because the boats were in the water.
Boyd said the state arson unit will investigate, and the state Department of Environmental Protection will test the water to determine if there is any pollution from the fuel tanks on the boats or the foam used to put out the blaze.
Late Wednesday night, officials were determining whether to leave the vessels in the water or remove them for environmental reasons.
No injuries were reported.
