Residents captured a boat fire on video that took place early morning Saturday in Cadboro Bay.
The Saanich Fire Department was dispatched to the area at 7:19 a.m., Feb. 18, where they encountered a burning fibre-glass vessel approximately 100-feet from the shoreline.
Roger Stewart, acting deputy chief with the Oak Bay fire department says one vessel has sunk and another was damaged by the blaze.
In a phone statement with CHEK, he clarified that while Oak Bay fire was in-attendance, this was a joint effort between multiple first-responder agencies.
He says shortly after Saanich fire crews arrived on scene, Oak Bay’s joined them. Due to the fact that the vessel was approximately 100 feet from the shore, they had to notify the Coast Guard.
Upon their arrival, the Coast Guard began a search for any immediate victims, while requesting that the Victoria fire department’s fire-boat come and extinguish the flames.
Ultimately, the fire was neutralized by the fire-boat, but they had to dispatch the Coast Guard’s Environmental Response Unit. Currently, the ERU is reporting that they have no environmental concerns at this time.
The scene is now being looked after by the Oak Bay police department, who are conducting a search of the sunken vessel with their dive team.
CHEK News spoke with Jenny Weston, station leader at the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue, Station 33, who says to her knowledge no one was injured in the incident.
“We did locate a dingy that the owner of the boat had on shore. Our crew did a shoreline search, searched the bay and surrounding area for any individuals and did not identify anyone there,” she said.
She added there are no details on what started the fire, and that it’s to be investigated at a later date.
“We saw the firetrucks outside the house and wondered, what are they doing out there?” said Jack Angus, a local resident who spoke with CHEK. “A lot of dark smoke.”
Boat fire is almost to the waterline. Coast Guard making sure the debris is contained pic.twitter.com/oCDmgkf5i3
— Saanich Fire Department (@SaanichFire) February 18, 2023
CHEK News has reached out to authorities for more information. Currently it is unclear what sparked the blaze.
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- Images show the blaze | Curran Crawford
Roger Collins
