By: Eric Liu
On August 5th, 2023, a flaming boat at Long Beach, California, kills 2 and gravely injures 3 people.
A fire erupted from the 35-foot power boat, and all victims were in their 60s. The deaths include 2 women, and the gravely injured include 2 men and a woman. Every injured victim was sent to the hospital to treat their burn injuries, but all of their identities remain a mystery.
When the boat was on fire, many bystanders were trying to help to distinguish the flames from the boat. But it was not enough, and the fire ultimately was extinguished by the firefighters. Jake Heflin, the Long Beach Fire Captain said, “Firefighters “knocked a good portion of the fire out.” with water cannons.”(Los Angeles Times).
The boat was extinguished with water cannons, a device on a fire truck that shoots out with high velocity to extinguish fires. But they weren’t able to fully extinguish it, so they had to call in more support from other firefighters throughout the country to fully extinguish the remnants from the flame. If the remnants of the fire were not fully extinguished the dock could’ve been set ablaze from the embers in the wind.
But what had ultimately caused the fire? Many of the bystanders that helped to put out the flame said that the boat was in the process of refilling, and this would be a key piece of evidence in the investigation. Jake Heflin, the Long Beach Fire Captain said, “The investigation into the fatal fire will include reports that the boat was either fueling or had just finished fueling when it burst into flames.”(CBSnews).
While the 5 people were fueling their powerboat, they didn’t wait for the fumes from the fuel to dissipate. Not waiting for the fumes to disperse throughout the air can be very dangerous, because the fumes are very flammable which leads to boats bursting in fire, ultimately ending the lives of 2 people, and injuring 3.
The boat exploding produced a huge bang that could be heard throughout the place. Daniel Quinn, a host of a nearby restaurant said, “There was a big bang and I looked up, and there was a ginormous plume of black smoke.”(Los Angeles Times).
The plume of black smoke was a health hazard that was very destructive to the environment. Not only was the boat polluting the air, it was leaking oil, polluting the ocean. Due to those factors that could have impacted the environment, the boat was moved to a more isolated dock.
This boat fire had a huge impact, from killing and injuring people to even hurting and polluting the environment. Despite this without the firefighters coming to intervene this situation could have been a lot worse.