‘You can’t panic’: Employee at Braintree yacht club springs into action when boat bursts into flames

BRAINTREE, Mass — “They didn’t realize that they were on fire which is crazy just that the shock and the adrenaline could do that to you,” says Kaitlyn, an employee at Metropolitan Yacht Club.

Kaitlyn works at Metropolitan Yacht Club in Braintree. On Saturday, she was filling up a boat with gas when the next thing she knew.

“I yelled out ‘Hey do you have your blowers’ and before I even got to say ‘on’, the boat had erupted in a small explosion that sounded like starting a grill almost where I then realized we have a fire situation,” says Kaitlyn.

Ten people including four children were on the boat when it went up in flames.

“His forearm and his hand were degloved by the burns,” says Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn quickly sprang into action to make sure everyone got off the boat safely and she provided first aid on the dock until help arrived.

“The biggest thing is that you can’t panic in a situation like that. I don’t really understand why but I tend to be good in emergency situations,” says Kaitlyn.

That wasn’t all she did. She told her dad-a retired Braintree Police Officer to use her boat to tow away the boat that was on fire to prevent the whole dock from going up in flames.

“I am super glad that he could get the boat and get it away from here safe. It could have been so much worse if the dock caught fire. Without him it would have been an absolute disaster to deal with,” says Kaitlyn.

This week Kaitlyn says there will be a meeting for all the employees to discuss new safety protocols for situations like what happened.

As for the people on the boat, they were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation

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