Hide Transcript Show Transcript

WEBVTT >> THAT’S RIGHT. THE INVESTIGATION AND CLEANUP CONTINUES TONIGHT. THE WINDY CONDITIONS MAKING EVERYTHING SO MUCH MORE COMPLICATED. THIS CELLPHONE VIDEO TELLS THE STORY. >> WE TRIED TO PUT THE FIRE OUT. WE USED SIX DIFFERENT FIRE EXTINGUISHERS AND IT JUST KEPT COMING BACK AND COMING BACK. >> THREE BOATS DESTROYED IN A LATE NIGHT FIRE, FIREFIGHTERS WORKING AGAINST STRONG WINDS GUSTS AND COMPLICATED ACCESSIBILITY. >> IT TOOK AWHILE TO EXTINGUISH ACTUALLY. THERE WAS SOME DIESEL FUEL ONBOARD ONE OF THE LARGER BOATS THAT KEPT STOKING THE FIRE AND AS SOON AS YOU HIT IT AND KEPT KNOCKING IT DOWN, IT WOULD REIGNITE AGAIN. >> ONE VESSEL FULLY ENGULFED , FLAMES JUMPING TO TWO OTHER VESSELS. RESIDENTS FORCED TO GRAB WHAT THEY COULD AND EVACUATE. >> THESE ARE PEOPLE’S HOMES. THEY’RE NOT LUXURIES. PEOPLE LIVE HERE. IT’S THERE ONLY HOMES. SOME OF US HAVE NO PLACE ELSE TO GO. >> BETWEEN THE VESSELS, MORE THAN A THOUSAND GALLONS OF FUEL ON BOARD. LUCKILY, NO INJURIES ARE REPORTED. >> ONE WOMAN WHO OWNED THE BOAT THAT WAS ACTUALLY LIVING ON THE BOAT, SHE WAS ABLE TO ESCAPE UNHARMED, THANK GOD. YOU CAN REPLACE A BOAT. YOU CAN’T REPLACE A PERSON. >> HE IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. ABOUT 200 PEOPLE LIVE ON THE BOATS AT THE MARINA. THAT MEANS SOME PEOPLE ARE DISPLACED. TONIGHT, THERE IS NO OFFICIAL WORD ON THE

Advertisement Fire jumps from boat to boat at Charlestown marina Share Shares Copy Link Copy

It was a fiery scene in Boston late Tuesday night as raging flames jumped from boat to boat at a marina.When firefighters arrived at the Constitution Marina in Charlestown just before 11:30 p.m., a large boat was already engulfed. The flames quickly spread to two other vessels. MassPort crews jumped in to help, but firefighters still had a tough time getting the fire under control. Firefighters switched to foam, which doused the fuel-fed flames. Two of the boats sank during the fire. “I heard a pop and some people running on the dock and the boat across the way was on fire,” witness Lance Ryley said.Ryley was getting ready for bed on his boat when a nearby vessel caught fire. “We called the fire department, did what we could with fire extinguishers and then when we knew it was time, we left. It was intense -- absolutely intense,” witness Walter Hope said.“The fire department responded so quickly with fire boats and they even had a ladder truck up on the bridge that was shooting water onto the boats,” Ryley said. No one was injured. One woman was on one of the boats when the fire started, but she managed to get off safely.“I think the most important thing is that nobody got hurt last night,” Ryley said.“These are people's homes. They're not luxuries. People live here. It's their only homes. Some of us have no place else to go,” Hope said. As many as 50 firefighters responded to the scene, and the Coast Guard was contacted for environmental cleanup because of the fuel.The cause of the fire remains under investigation.The damage is estimated at $1 million.