One of the best traditions in the SEC lives in Knoxville with the Vol Navy.

The Vol Navy began in the early 1960s, thanks to former Tennessee broadcaster George Mooney. Mooney was fed up with traffic jams before and after games; so, he thought of a better way. The Vol Navy was born in 1962.

Today, the tradition lives on even after Mooney passed away in 2011.

Unfortunately, a Vol Navy vessel caught fire early this morning. The Vessel Chances “R” caught fire at 6:30 a.m., but thankfully, all five passengers and one dog are safe.

Folks were sharing photos of the boat on social media:

Live look at the Vol Navy. Hope this isn’t an omen for the season… pic.twitter.com/oGS5rjc18D — jason altman (@jasonaltmanruns) August 31, 2019

Vol Navy suffered a loss this morning. The Vessel Chances “R” caught fire at 0630 this morning. All 5 souls and 1 dog on board are safe. Fire crews are currently cleaning up. And monitoring for any hazardous materials in the river. pic.twitter.com/bedBSipGqN — Knoxville Fire (@KnoxvilleFire) August 31, 2019