A fire broke out on a boat at Silver Lake Marina in Grapevine on Sunday, damaging or destroying at least nine other boats and leaving one person injured, fire officials say.
Fire investigators said a boat caught fire at about 1:15 p.m. when someone tried to start an engine. Officials are investigating the cause of the fire and said it's possible the fire was sparked by an electrical short or a fuel leak.
The fire then spread to other boats docked at the marina, causing significant damage to four and minor to moderate damage to another six. Fire officials said the total number of boats damaged could grow as the investigation continues.
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"Some have sank," said Grapevine Fire Chief Darrell Brown. "Some have burned and are not salvageable at all."
Slip owner Jeffrey DeLotto learned of the fire from watching the news.
Video showed the flames spreading dangerously close to his sailboat.
"It looked okay, but I decided to come out today and I was mistaken," DeLotto said.
Access to Silver Lake Marina remained restricted on Monday.
DeLotto said he and another slip owner were driven to the dock by boat to view the damage.
The heat burned his sail, melted equipment and damaged the cabin and mast.
He fears the cost of repairs versus the insurance value of a 40-year-old sailboat.
"It hurts a little bit," DeLotto said. "It has some memories for me."
His family spent nearly a year living on the boat as they sailed around Florida.
"It's a refuge," DeLotto said.
The fire department said getting water to the fire was a significant challenge because the closest full-sized water pump to the marina was nearly half a mile away, and firefighters had to lay more than 2,000 feet of hose to get water to the marina.
NBC 5 heard from boat owners and viewers who questioned why the fire department didn't access lake water to put out the flames.
"That's what I immediately thought," DeLotto said. "Why couldn't they just drop some type of hose into the lake?"
Grapevine Fire Chief Darrell Brown told NBC 5 in this case it wasn't that simple.
"Getting a fire engine close enough to water to draft and overcome the laws of hydraulics is much less reliable than a positive water source such as a fire hydrant," Brown said.
According to police, one person has a broken leg and may have a head injury. No other injuries were reported.
NBC 5 viewers shared videos of thick, black smoke rising over the lake Sunday afternoon.
"I’ve seen some of the pictures online. It’s scary. It’s scary," said Steve Puren, who has a boat at the marina. "It’s unbelievable. Unbelievable."
Puren said he was texted by a friend who saw the flames from the lake and rushed to the scene to take in the damage.
"It’s horrific. Big fire," Puren said. "And there’s nothing worse than a boat fire."
After several hours, crews finally got the flames under control. Brown said the damage could have been worse without their response.
"There’s hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars of boats down there that, it could have been a really bad day and they kept it from being there," said Brown.
The Grapevine Fire Department said multiple agencies assisted in fighting the fire, including firefighters from Flower Mound, Bedford, Lewisville, North Richland Hills, Colleyville, DFW Airport, Euless, and Hurst.
