NEW ROCHELLE, NY — A man suffered burns to both arms as he tried to push his docked cabin cruiser out of his slip, away from a boat fully-involved in flames next to his boat at the Wright Island Marina. No one was on board the boat that first caught fire.
The man was able to untie his boat and push it away before jumping from his boat to the dock. A second person on his boat escaped without injury. The boat then drifted across the harbor to Davenport Neck where the burning boat started a brush fire as it reached the shore.
Black smoke, visible for miles, billowed across the water.
The first boat was totally burned. A sailboat also suffered some fire damage.
One New Rochelle firefighter suffered cuts on his hands.
The New Rochelle Fire Department moved quickly to put out the boat fires at Wright Island Marina.
“A difficult situation,” said Deputy Fire Chief John Reed.
New Rochelle Police were first on scene as the burning boat drifted onto Davenport Neck near Beckwith Pointe.
The New Rochelle Harbor Master boat, New Rochelle police boat and Wedtchester County PD boat all responded to the scene.
Unable to get a good angle on the boat from Davenport Neck, the Harbor Master attempted to pull the boat away from shore to then submerse it but the boat became stuck on the bottom as it burned down to the waterline.
“We are going to let it burn,” said Reed.