A fire aboard a boat on Lake Tashmoo at the end of Northern Pine Road has damaged the boat and damaged a nearby dock. No one was aboard the boat at the time of the blaze and there were no injuries.
Fire officials from Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs responded to Harbormaster John Crocker’s call for assistance.
Mr. Crocker, who was on his private boat, responded to a call at about 8:30 am about smoke coming from the Charlotte Anne. When he arrived, he saw smoke coming from the cabin of the 35-foot work boat. The boat is owned by John Packer.
Mr. Crocker had his son drop him off at the dock and he went up to the road to direct firefighters to the boat fire in the remote area off Northern Pine Road where the Crocker family owns a farm that stretches all the way to the water.
As of 10:30 am fire crews remained on the scene cleaning up. The boat, which sustained significant damage from the fire, is being salvaged by Mr. Crocker, according to Tisbury Fire Chief John Schilling.
Chief Schilling said none of the fuel from the boat leaked into the water. “In that sense, we were very fortunate,” he said.
Smoke billowed from the scene shortly before 9 am and could be seen on the incoming ferry.
The fire is the third boat fire in recent weeks, including a fire aboard a Steamship Authority ferry, Mr. Crocker said. “It’s strange because boat fires are pretty rare,” he said.
Madeleine Moore contributed to this report.