A marina fire destroyed a fishing boat on Madeira Beach Thursday afternoon. The flames spread to two other boats in the marina.
Charlie Renier owns the Fishbusterz Marina and the boats. This fire started on Thanksgiving, and he still found something to be thankful for through this. “It’s a terrible day, but luckily nobody was hurt,” Renier said. “And you know, it could’ve been a lot worse.”
Another thing to be thankful for: the fire did not start at sea. “Well, if they’re out fishing, it’s gonna go to the Davy Jones locker,” said Brian Ulrich, the Acting Fire District Chief for the City of Seminole.
Renier was also happy to see how fast the fire was contained so it could not spread further. “Thanks to the fast action of the fire department and the police department, they got it all contained,” Renier said.
Renier estimates the first boat had a total loss of $50,000. He said the other two will cost about $70,000. “Probably a hundred or one hundred and twenty thousand,” Renier said. “Which sucks.”
The Seminole Fire Department said there is no official cause of the fire yet, but Renier has his theory. “We believe an electrical fire started on the ‘Big Dog’ and with the north wind, it was on the other side of the ‘Miss Fiona’ and the weather blew across and caught that on fire and then caught the ‘Lucky Ones’ on fire,” Renier said.
Ulrich said this type of large marine fire is not common. “This is a marine district,” Ulrich said. “It happens a couple of times every four or five years.”
WTVT-TV FOX 13 Tampa
