Responders suspect the Bristol Bay drift boat's stove caught fire. Dillingham Volunteer Fire Dept. and other volunteers able to snuff out the flames quickly. Two were treated onsite for smoke inhalation.
The drift boat Flyin Tiger caught fire at the Dillingham boat harbor late Thursday morning. The fire was put out quickly, and there were no injuries. Volunteer firefighter Ron Bowers was one of the first on the scene.
“When we first pulled up, heavy smoke was coming out of the wheel house of the boat. A couple other boats were rafted in the neighborhood, and we were very concerned about that. We found a couple guys, crew members, that were trying to put it out. They’d inhaled a little smoke, so we got them taken care of,” says Bowers.
The captain, Willie Larson, was among those treated onsite for smoke inhalation. Neither he nor his crew member were taken to the hospital. The damage to the boat has not been fully assessed, but Bowers notes that it appears extensive.
“At this point it does seem that it came from the stove, but we’re not sure. That’s the initial report. It’s pretty well trashed out the inside of the wheel house,” says Bowers. “I don’t know all the other damage. That boat’s done probably for the season.”
The fire was put out before it spread to any of the other boats rafted in the area.
Contact the author at avery@kdlg.org or 907-842-5281.
