Two women died and three other people were hospitalized with burns Saturday after a 35-foot recreational boat caught fire at a fueling dock in Alamitos Bay on Long Beach’s east side.
The fire was reported at 5:17 p.m. Saturday at the pier in the 200 block of Marina Drive, Long Beach Firefighter Jake Heflin told City News Service.
All the dead and injured were over 60, he said. They have not been identified.
The pier was near a fire station, Heflin said. Firefighters rushed to the scene of a large, smoky fire that residents on the east side of Long Beach could smell and see throughout the marina area.
People near the pier told firefighters they heard and felt an explosion.
Heflin said preliminary reports indicate the ship was in the process of or had just finished refueling at the Alamitos Bay Fuel Dock when the fire broke out, according to the Long Beach Post. Refueling a boat can be dangerous if the vapors are not dissipated before starting the engine.
Long Beach firefighters on land and in the water were assisted by their Orange County Fire Authority counterparts to put out the blaze, Heflin said. No firefighters were injured.
The wreckage was towed to an isolation dock to prevent environmental impacts such as fuel leaks, Heflin said.
