Fire consumes boat on Intracoastal Waterway

Fire consumed a boat on the Intracoastal Waterway on Saturday afternoon.

Neighbors tell Action News Jax that the boat exploded into pieces, alarming people in nearby homes.

Those neighbors described hearing a loud boom, as they came out of their homes to see what was going on. They said the boat exploded right behind their homes into two separate pieces.

The fire happened on the water behind homes on Stacy Road East, which is off San Pablo Road between Beach Boulevard and J. Turner Butler Boulevard.

The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department said several units responded to the fire on the 28-foot boat shortly after 1 p.m.

Several neighbors all described what happened the same way; a loud boom and a ton of black smoke, so much smoke that it could be seen from miles away.

Matt Starne says he was on JTB in San Pablo when he saw the cloud and rushed over to see if anyone needed help.

“When we got here, I ran through the backyard, nobody was home, ran into a neighbor. He said that everybody made it off the boat safely, which was a major concern for me. They boarded another boat along with another fellow boater that must've been a witness,” Starn said.

The people who live in homes backing up to the Intracoastal Waterway say the boat exploded. One neighbor told us two people were on the boat and both of them were sent to the hospital. That neighbor also says it didn't appear that they had any life-threatening injuries, however, their clothes and hair were singed.

We’re working to figure out exactly what caused the boat to explode and catch fire. We're also working to get more details about the people who were on that boat and how serious their injuries were.

Cox Media Group