Ocean yacht goes up in flames in Marshfield

MARSHFIELD, Mass. — A 48-foot boat turned into a ball of fire on the water Thursday, and the Coast Guard spent all Friday dealing with the remains.

Video shows 30 to 40-foot high flames shooting from the boat Thursday night at Green Harbor Marina. The fire was too intense to do anything but call for help.

“You could hear it crackling, popping and a couple of big pops made me step back for a second,” said Evan Vigneau, who was working at the marina.

Marshfield fire and police attacked the fire from the water and the dock.

"It's very tricky, very unsafe where you have a lot of gear on the docks and water everywhere. The boats are blowing with the wind,” said the Marshfield PD Harbormaster.

The My Dee Lite owners told Boston 25 News they've owned the 48-foot ocean yacht for 18 years and were onboard earlier in the day getting it ready for its first trip out this year.  They went home Thursday night around 6:30 p.m. and got a call a few hours later with the news of the fire.

“The winds were blowing that way last night so it pushed everything over there. If it were shifted the other way it would have consumed more vessels in the marina,” said Marine Science Technician First Class Ann Marie Borkowski, with the US Coast Guard.

Marshfield's police chief helped hang onto the bow of the boat while firefighters onboard were attacking the flames. Crews were worried the ball of fire would drift over to the next dock where there are fuel pumps. The boat’s hull burnt out and it sank.

On Friday, the U.S. Coast Guard and State DEP spent the day containing and cleaning up the diesel fuel. The owners also hired a private contractor to do the work. The boat had more than 600 gallons of fuel, but investigators believe most of it burned.

Marshfield police say the fire is not suspicious but they are still trying to figure out the exact cause.  Crews are still working to get it out of the water.

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