Fire destroys 5 boats docked at New Rochelle marina; Davenport Neck Channel closed until further notice
Officials say an overnight fire at a New Rochelle marina destroyed five boats, forcing the closure of the channel until further notice.
Officials say an overnight fire at a New Rochelle marina destroyed five boats, forcing the closure of the channel until further notice.
New Rochelle Fire Chief Andrew Sandor says crews responded to reports of a boat fire around 12:45 a.m. Saturday at the Imperial Yacht Club.
Once on scene, crews attacked the flames from Towndock Marina, a dock located directly across from the Imperial Yacht Club.
"We had operations here with streams going, master streams, and as you can see as the ropes burned, and the boats got out of their mooring, they started drifting across and exposing other boats," Sandor said.
The fire took about two hours to extinguish.
Officials confirmed the New Rochelle Harbor master was working Saturday alongside the United States Coast Guard and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to address the sunken boats, debris, and fuel contaminants.
"All the boats over here probably have between two and 400 gallons of diesel. We have units out here putting absorbent pads in the water which is going to absorb whatever is floating to the top. Last night, the Carbon Patrol and myself put out a containment plume and we closed the entire harbor so nothing would go out with the outgoing tide," said Captain Salvatore Gugliara, New Rochelle Harbor Master.
Due to the debris and oil containment efforts, Davenport Neck Channel will be closed until further notice.
Officials are expected on the scene on Sunday to salvage the sunken boats.
Sandor confirmed that a mother and child were transported to Jacobi Hospital for further observation.
Their condition and a cause of the fire were not immediately known as of Saturday night.
News 12's Carol Wilkinson spoke with Sandor on Saturday night for an update on the ongoing investigation and cleanup efforts at the yacht club. Sandor shared advice for anyone who will be visiting the yacht club or anyone going there to check on their own boats in the days ahead.
"There's going to be ongoing remediation efforts to salvage...with the big barge. The spill company will be out there working, so just try, obviously, not to get in their way. They're just trying to do their job and get things taken care of, and do realize that, unfortunately, an event did occur, and they're doing the best they can to get it straightened out," Sandor said.
News 12's Lauren Del Valle's Saturday evening report on the fire at the New Rochelle marina.
