Scary moments unfolded in the Chesapeake Bay early Saturday morning when a 46-foot powerboat caught fire off of Thomas Point near Annapolis.
The Anne Arundel County Fire Department says they were called around 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 16, for reports of a boat fire. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police (NRP) tells us the boat in question was traveling to the C&D Canal en route to Ocean City.
Severna Park boater Kurt Cerny was out fishing with a group at the same time. While trolling along the western side of Kent Island, they thought he saw smoke back in the direction of the Severn River. With the help of binoculars, they could make out a boat amongst the smoke. They brought in their lines to head across the Bay and see if they could help the people on board.
“While halfway across the Bay, it was clear it was a boat and we started seeing flames and the smoke turned back,” Cerny tells us. Another good Samaritan boat, a 30-foot center console, had already arrived at the scene and had rescued four people from the burning powerboat.
Boater Matt Brown, who was on another boat, captured this video of the fire. He tells us that the operator of the good Samaritan center console “saved the day for sure,” since there wasn’t a lot of boat traffic in the area so early in the morning.
The Maryland Natural Resources Police, Coast Guard, and Annapolis and Anne Arundel County fireboats arrived soon after, Cerny says.
Anne Arundel County Fire Department says when they arrived, the 46-foot boat was fully involved in fire. Annapolis Fireboat 36 initiated the firefighting efforts. Thankfully none of the four people rescued from the boat was injured.
“The fire department made quick work of putting out the flames and prevented [the boat] from burning to the waterline and sinking. We were impressed,” Cerny tells us.
The vessel was towed back to shore for “further mitigation,” the Anne Arundel County Fire Department says.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police are investigating the cause of the fire. Spokesman Hunter Dortenzo tells us, “Individuals on board advised that smoke was seen from the starboard side engine before fire engulfed the vessel.”
