Marina Fire – Fort Myers, FL 1/10/06

Lots of excitement at the Ft Myers Yacht Basin Marina this morning. There was a massive explosion at the gas dock. A 36 foot power boat burned beyond recognition and only about 3 feet of the bow are visible in the water. The boat had just taken on 100 gallons of gasoline this A.M. Apparently there was a large leak within the bilge. Gas was also seen on the surface of the water around the boat. The boat exploded when they were starting it up. One person was blown off and another jumped off the boat. Many of the boats situated around the burning one made hasty exits while an 80 footer had trouble getting it's engines started and backing out of the marina. It was basically chased down the dock by a huge ball of fire as the burning boat moved with the current on the outside of the gas dock. Many minutes after the fire on the boat was contained with only smoke remaining a second flash fire started on the dock and the water.The only good news is that their were no major injuries or more boats damaged.