A boat caught fire while being towed through town Thursday evening, prompting its driver to pull directly up to the fire station where crews quickly extinguished the blaze. Fire Chief Jason Gilliland was the one who first spotted the flames and directed the response. No one was injured in the incident.
The fire happened around 5 p.m. near Wallace Road when Gilliland was walking his dogs with his wife.
“I ran up to the window. I said, ‘Hey, your boat is on fire — get to the station,’” Gilliland told the Marblehead Current.
The fire damaged interior components including seats and flooring, but the hull and motor were spared significant damage. Gilliland, who said he had never witnessed such an incident before, noted the importance of the rapid response, explaining that “fiberglass is nothing but solidified gasoline” and emphasizing how quickly such fires can spread.
“They did a quick knockdown,” Gilliland said. “If you look at the boat, the motor is not damaged, the outside of the hull, the boat’s not damaged.”
The fire marked an unusual final call for Fire Capt. Thomas Rice, who retired Thursday after his last day with the department.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, though Gilliland said the department investigates all fires as standard procedure to determine if factors like equipment recalls played a role.
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