Black and gray plumes of smoke rose from Yaletown’s shoreline Thursday morning when one of the boats at Quayside Marina caught on fire.
Aquabus drivers say the fire started around 11:20. They saw one man use a fire extinguisher to try to quell the flames on his own. The Vancouver Fire Department arrived about 10 minutes later but it was difficult for the land-based hoses to reach the boat.
Huge blast in #yaletown as boat explodes @GlobalBC pic.twitter.com/uHkD3XLLYA
— Mary Zilba (@MaryZilba) October 12, 2017
The Coast Guard’s fire boat arrived approximately 20 minutes later to attack the fire by water, say the Aquabus drivers interviewed by the Courier.
The After Eight, a 46’ yacht that is moored at the marina, left its dock to avoid the smoke and flames.
The Aquabus drivers believe that the boat was the Lady Anna.
There was lightning in the area that morning but it’s not known whether that was the cause. A driver heard a boom but that might have been a tank exploding.
