FIRE!

While preparing our sailboat for a trip to Vancouver Island’s west coast, I kept smelling something. A faint rotten-egg odour permeated the air. I sniffed and sniffed trying to find the malodorous culprit. When I bent over the quarter berth, I found the side panel hot. Our bank of gel batteries resided under the bunk and after lifting the cover, we found one battery had overheated. We disconnected it at once, but I’ve often wondered what would’ve happened if we had not been aboard that day.

Vancouver yacht surveyor Sarah White supplied me with the answer. “You could’ve had a bad cell in that battery,” she said. “In time, the heat build-up could certainly have caused the battery to explode and start a fire.”

Except for people without lifejackets falling overboard into our frigid waters, the most common boat calamity, accidental fire is one of the scariest events that can occur on a boat. Physics tells us that for stuff to burn—what firefighters call the “fire triangle”—there needs to be oxygen, heat and fuel. Our yachts, whether wood or fibreglass, are filled with that fuel: diesel, gasoline, lubricants, hoses, plastics, carpet, lines, fenders, foam-rubber settees and berths, wood furniture and propane tanks. Outboard engines, top-side dinghies, kayaks, paddleboards and outside furniture add to the combustible load. One firefighter refers to boats as “just one big pile of kindling.”

Fire stories abound. In September, a man living aboard a sailboat in False Creek ignited a fire while cooking. By the time the City of Vancouver fireboat arrived, flames were shooting from the cabin and the boat’s resident sustained serious burns. Two other rafted boats were also damaged. The boat, not in great shape, later sank, requiring costly retrieval. Another anchored sailboat burned in Cadboro Bay this spring.

Marina Fires We rarely think we’ll lose our yacht while safely moored at our marina. The reality is that most boat fires occur at the dock, where if one boat goes up in flames, it can burn its neighbours too. In the recent past, boat fires occurred at marinas in Ladysmith, Nanoose Bay, Victoria’s Fisherman’s Wharf, Coast Victoria Hotel and Marina and Oak Bay Marina. Two boats burned to the waterline at Nanaimo’s Newcastle Marina leaving one owner with 50 percent burns. The Bayliner that caught fire just after fueling at a North Saanich fuel dock led to the owner’s death, injured two staff and burned both the boat and the fuel dock. The fire’s intensity made the cause difficult to determine, but it certainly warns us to stop the engine and be extremely watchful when filling our tanks.

Local news outlets usually report on boat fires and state that “the cause will be investigated.” As investigations take time, we rarely learn why a specific boat burned. Moreover, it may be hard to tell exactly what happened. When a vintage wooden boat caught fire at the Seattle Yacht Club a couple of decades ago, inspectors postulated it started with an electrical malfunction. The owners ran an electric heater to keep the boat dry during the winter. Did the space heater overheat or overtax old wiring? Did it tip over and lack an automatic shut-off valve? One witness suggested that to power the heater, a cheap extension cord covered by a rug may have overheated, smoldered and then found plenty of fuel to burn the boat to the waterline. We’ll never know for sure.

Moreover, this particular boat was under cover, and the fire was typical of the “mushrooming” or “rollover” that takes place under a roof. The heat rises, hits the roof, then spreads horizontally and cools just enough to descend and ignite the next vessel from the top. And many powerboats store their tender on the upper deck—tenders that may carry many litres of highly incendiary gasoline. Meanwhile, fire is also spurting across finger piers at lower levels. Fibreglass, when it heats, releases gasses that burn much hotter than wood and consume anything in their path. Thirteen boats were incinerated. Boathouses are similarly vulnerable to mushrooming.

 

A fire’s aftermath can be gruelling. Owners have memories of great trips, adventures with family and friends that they mourn after their boat has been reduced to ashes. To add to this injury, unless boat owners have an adequate insurance policy, they may have some liability for the cleanup even though they’re not responsible for the fire.

Cleaning up after a fire is a major enterprise, especially if the boat has burned to the waterline, or has sunk. At marinas, booms may be required to trap floating diesel or fuel leaking from tanks. Divers may be sent into sunken wrecks to stop leaks, secure tanks and remove environmentally hazardous materials. For sunken boats, divers have to go in again and attach lifting slings around the wreck so a crane can hoist the hull onto a barge, which delivers them to a yard where they are further stripped of batteries and other “hazmats.”

I asked Rob Menzies of Victoria’s Salish Sea Industrial Services, a company that salvages wrecks and derelicts, about the challenges and costs of lifting a burned hull from the mud. In an email, Menzies described two burned vessels the company recently retrieved after a fire. “The first was a burnt powerboat that ignited in the Gorge,” he wrote. “It subsequently sank… We refloated it within 48 hours and towed it to our facility for cleanup… I can still remember the [very toxic] smell…I don’t know exactly what caused the fire—we’ll never know…but it cost about $20,000 to retrieve.”

Menzies added that the second recovered vessel had caught fire at a dock in the Gulf Islands, completely burning out its topsides, although the boat was kept afloat. The Coast Guard removed fuel and oil, but when Salish Sea salvaged it, they found the boat still had enough diesel aboard to fill six 50-gallon barrels. The cleanup cost—relocating, hauling, removing hazardous waste, demolishing and disposing of the yacht—ran about $35,000. Hazardous materials potentially found on boats include hydrocarbon products, lead paint, PCBs, refrigerants, heavy metals and fire extinguishers.

 

Potential Hazards

Can you completely fireproof your vessel? Unfortunately, the answer is no. Even if you take every precaution against fires, accidents happen. But you can be sensible. I heard of one power boater who sprayed WD-40 on a hot engine part, an act of folly that cost him his yacht and a couple of his neighbours’ boats. Some boaters grind, weld, cut, solder and burn paint with nary an extinguisher or even a bucket of water in sight.

 

Fire experts universally hate free-standing electric heaters. They draw heavy current, can topple over and put stress on a boat’s electrical system. Over a winter’s use, dust can accumulate in the fan’s filter, reducing air flow and escalating fire risks. One firefighter told me that he’s seen electric heaters fed by 100-foot extension cords—designed for home, not marine use—plugged into a dock outlet and then snaked through a hatch. “The resistance builds up where the heater is plugged into the extension cord and the plugs melt,” he told me. “If you want to keep your electronics dry and reduce damp, wire in a CSA-approved heater with a thermostat that doesn’t overload your system’s capacity.” Others suggest a single lit light bulb housed in a metal container or stainless sink—and a proper cord—is just as effective. Others yet advise using calcium chloride “dry crystals” that can never short out.

 

Another fire hazard is the boat’s plug-in cord. One concerned dock walker knocked on a friend’s boat one evening to tell him his plug-in cord was sparking at the dock hookup. It turned out to be his neighbour’s home-wired cord which, although employing the correct gage and plug, was unsealed and improperly soldered. “Can you imagine,” said the dock walker, “he probably saved himself 40 bucks on a cord and endangered his $100,000 boat and the rest of us too.”

 

Is your wiring up to snuff? Commonly, boat owners buy a boat and, over the years, incrementally add electrical appliances without upgrading the wiring. Chart plotters, radar, AIS, inverters, single-sideband radios, battery chargers, fridge/freezers and other amperage hogs can overwhelm your boat’s capacity. One yachtie called it the creation of a “Frankenstein of wires,” without knowing their function and where they go. If you’re a do-it-yourself type of person, use the right marine-grade wire, proper extension cords and crimping connections instead of wire nuts suitable for your lamp at home. Because salt-water environments tend to corrode electrical connections, it’s wise to invite a certified marine electrician to inspect your handiwork and test the circuit board.

 

Vapors from gasoline, propane and hydraulic fluid are heavier than air and settle in the bilge. Mixing these fuel fumes with electrically controlled devices can cause explosions, killing you and your vessel. Sparks from starting an engine, an electric bilge pump switching on, even turning on a light, can send you to the next world. Sniffers and blowers to detect and clear fumes are essential.

 

Propane tanks should always be shut off at the valve, not just at the sniffer control. Once a fire melts your hose beyond the control, propane can flow unrestricted, feeding the flames.

 

Spontaneous combustion can arise when oily rags are rolled tightly into a plastic bag where the chemical reaction can cause heat, just like a compost heap.

 

It’s easy for the steak’s sizzle to turn into charcoal, so don’t leave your barbecue unattended. And that open whiskey bottle next to the grill is another no-no. Some marinas now offer grilling space away from the docks.

Requirements

Most of us have well-charged, appropriately sized fire extinguishers on board. The Canadian Coast Guard lists the extinguisher requirements by boat size. A boat up to 20 feet equipped with an inboard motor, fixed fuel tank, and/or any fuel-burning cooking, heating or refrigeration units must carry a class 5BC fire extinguisher; boats 19.7 feet to 29.5 feet must carry two 5B:Cs; boats measuring 29.5 to 39.4 feet must carry two 10B:Cs; and those boats from 39.4 to 78.7 feet must carry three 10B:Cs in the galley, saloon, sleeping area and the machinery space. In addition, extinguishers must be USCG or ULC certified and checked annually.

Are your extinguishers reachable? When we bought our boat, one fire extinguisher was hidden in a hanging locker. In a galley fire, I would’ve been required to walk through the flames to get to the extinguisher. Fire experts advise boaters to plan their escape. Ask yourself, if you’re in your stateroom or in the bow, is there an extinguisher between you and any fire? Could you be trapped?

 

Smoke alarms are just as useful on boats and might save both your life and boat. Offshore sailor Barry Glickman swears by having a couple of fire blankets aboard besides extinguishers. “It can quickly smother a small fire, like a grease fire in the galley or an oil lamp,” he said. “It suppresses a small fire and you don’t have to clean up the foamy mess created by an extinguisher.”

 

You might consider the all-over safety in your marina—your own or those you visit. Most marinas and yacht club premises are strictly policed for hazards, but a dock littered with lines, old batteries, carts and extension cords raises alarms. You can also ascertain the location of the nearest fire hydrant or standpipe and determine if they’re installed at regular intervals. And does the fire department have enough hose to reach the end of the docks?

 

Most of us don’t read our marine insurance policies carefully, but we should. As boat sizes increase, electronics and toys are added, and as environmental and waste disposal regulations have strengthened significantly, our policies may be outdated. I spoke with Paul Mendham, CEO of Navis Marine Insurance Brokers, to learn just what our insurance covers in fires. “If my boat was the cause of a fire that also destroyed other boats, what is my liability?” I asked. “And is my boat, and others that may burn, insured for pollution, salvage and disposal costs after a fire?”

“Yes,” Mendham said, “Canadian regulations stipulate that liability insurance covers those costs. The US laws are different.” He added that up to June 2023, brokers counselled pleasure craft owners to buy a $2 million liability policy, but due to recent changes to the Canadian Marine Liability Act’s limitations, brokers now recommend that pleasure craft owners under 300 gross tonnage should consider $3 million of coverage.

 

Most of us are unlikely to experience fire aboard our yachts, but the chances are not zero. With the proper precautions and preparations, we can minimize the chances of onboard fire, and if it happens anyway, let it not be because of carelessness or negligence.