MAY 13, 2015
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE
A woman is in the hospital being treated for burns after a
boat exploded at the gas dock of a west Tennessee marina.
Multiple news outlets report the explosion happened Sunday
morning at Concord Marina in west Knoxville. The marina harbormaster says the
boat’s captain had just fueled the boat at the fuel dock and started the engine
when the explosion occurred.
Emergency responders put out the fire and took the
captain’s wife, 64-year-old Nancy Longnaker, to UT Medical Center with burns to
her legs. The boat was destroyed.
A representative says the fuel dock will remain closed for a
couple of days because of damage from the fire. No other marina operations are
impacted.
Longnaker’s condition was not available.
Explosions and fires like that are common when there is a
leak in the fueling system. The heat
from the engine will ignite the fumes, causing the explosion and subsequent
fire.