By: Hannah Zhang

Three days ago, at Long Beach, two elderly women in their 60s were killed in a boat fire, accompanied by two injured men and an injured woman, all in their 60s. The boat in question that was set in flames was a 35-foot power boat.

As firefighters rushed to the scene, bystanders were already attempting to put out the fire. The boat was engulfed in less than twenty seconds, as Cory Valdes stated for AP News, who was on a nearby boat when the first vessel initially exploded.

Fortunately, in the end, firefighters were able to put out most of the fire using water cannons, but called for more support to ensure the fire did not spread past the boat.

Besides working on putting out the fire, officials were also taking to sufficient safety measures to prevent environmental damages, such as fuel or oil leaks. The cause of this disaster is still under investigation.

According to Daniel Quinn, one of the other witnesses in the area at the time of the fire, there was a “big bang” that resembled the sound of “someone landing on the roof”. As he looked up to check what the noise was about, Quinn recalled there to be a “ginormous plume of black smoke.”

The fire had “sent up a massive cloud of black smoke that was visible for miles,” the Lost Angeles Times described, as firefighters were struggling to tame the ruthless flames that raged on both land and water.

Afterwards, many firefighters were offered mental health support due to how serious the incident was. Thankfully, no one was hurt physically.