EVERETT, Wash. -- Five boats were damaged Saturday night as a fire spread through an Everett marina.
Four of the boats sank.
The fire was sparked when a boat entering the marina hit another boat moored in a slip. The boats burst into flames.
The fire was on the south marina dock in the 1700 block of West Marine Drive.
At least five people ended up in the water. One person suffered minor injuries.
The smoke and spreading flames stunned other boaters who were enjoying a warm summer evening.
"I was a little concerned it was going to come towards us and that’s why I said I was going to bail out of here," said Mike Rimkus who was having a BBQ on his boat when he saw the black smoke. "Once the gas gets in the water, it gets going and the wind was coming right towards our boat and we were just covered in smoke and hard to breathe."
“I was concerned because we have friends down on this dock down here and when the billowing black smoke came, I ran out of my boat and came up here," said boater Marianne Handewith.
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First the good news. No major injuries and no one transported.
Here’s what we know for sure so far from Everett Fire Chief Tim Key. Calls of a boat fire began coming in shortly after 7:30 PM.
The fire was on one boat at D dock which is just north of Anthony’s Woodfire Grill. The fire spread to other boats quickly and five people had to jump into the water to escape the flames.
All five were safely removed from the water and there were no major injuries. Smoke could be see as far as the Hewitt Avenue Trestle.
A total of 5 boats were destroyed. 4 went to the bottom and another was damaged but still afloat.
The Department of Ecology has been called to the scene.
Everett Fire investigators are on scene but no damage estimate or cause is expected for some time.