Community effort and heroic act from jet skiers help avoid disaster at Pointe-du-Chêne Wharf
What should have been a peacful Sunday on the water turned into anything but when a boat caught on fire inside the marina at the Pointe-du-Chêne Wharf in Shediac, N.B.
Police said the male boater was sent to hospital with serious, but non-life threatening injuries after jumping from his boat.
“He was having some engine problems,” said Paul Moores, the owner and captain of Shediac Bay Cruises, who watched the incident occur on Sunday. “He got it started, got it off the trailer and then he began to stall and some people came down to help him keep the boat off the dock and then at one point, once he got one engine going, it exploded.”
Several people caught the incident on camera, including the explosion, the man jumping from the boat and the fire that followed.
‘We just did what we were trained to do’
However, it’s what happened after the initial explosion that’s left people still talking on the wharf Monday.
“The boat started drifting towards other boats in our marina,” said Victor Cormier, Harbour Authority general manager.
Boaters rallied together to help.
Moores said they were able to deploy a small fire hose out the back of their cruise boat to spray water as it passed by the other boat. He also called 911 and the Coast Guard.
“We just did what we were trained to do,” he said
A group of jet skiers made their way toward the burning vessel.
“They continued on with their jet skis to try and move the vessel along,” said Moores.
“They were able to get a rope onto the vessel and tow it out behind the rock wall.”
Before they intervened, Cormier says the boat was headed towards the gas bar and the yacht club.
“If it had of hit one of those boats, the statistics are that on a marina fire usually 10 to 15 boats go at the same time,” he said.
“There’s no manual on this. When something happens like that you just try to do the best that you can and they realized that if that boat was going to go towards our gas bar or the Pointe-du-Chêne Yacht Club that it’s going to be a major catastrophe,” he added.
In an interview with CTV News on Sunday, Cormier referred to the jet skiers as heroes.
Patrick LeBlanc, who was driving one of the jet skis, declined to speak to the media on Monday following the incident
‘He did everything that was supposed to be done’
Cormier says there is an emergecy plan in place at the wharf.
“The gas bar attendant or the gate will phone each other and then we will put cones on the exit gates so no one can exit the wharf so that the emergency vehicles can access the wharf from the exit side,” he said.
What exactly happened to cause the explosion on the boat is still unknown.
In total, Moores says it only took about 15 minutes from the time the boat caught on fire to the time it was towed in behind the rock wall.
The incident is currently under investigation with the Coast Guard. Police determined the fire as accidental.
“It’s one of those flukey things,” said Cormier.
“He (the boater) did everything that was supposed to be done.”
‘We went through enough’
The wharf had to be evacuated for about 40 minutes on Sunday due to the smoke coming off the burning vessel.
“This is my 14th year. I went through the storm surge in 2010, we went through Dorion and then Fiona and then we got everything pretty well repaired from Fiona, so I don’t want anything else to happen,” said Cormier.
“We went through enough.”
Overall, Moores said everything happened so quickly and there wasn’t even time to think about what to do. Instead, everyone just jumped to action, working together to have a positive outcome.
“Everybody knows everybody and we all help each other out and that’s really kind of a boaters code anyways,” said Moores.
“When you’re out there and you’re in distress, we al have a responsibility. So definitely the community came together.”
For more New Brunswick news visit our dedicated provincial page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump chooses anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says he will nominate anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, putting him in charge of a massive agency that oversees everything from drug, vaccine and food safety to medical research and the social safety net programs Medicare and Medicaid.
LIVE UPDATES Rogers Centre opens its doors to thousands of Taylor Swift fans for the first sold-out show
Taylor Swift is in Toronto to perform her first of six sold-out shows at the Rogers Centre tonight.
Purolator workers won't handle Canada Post packages if strike occurs, union says
Teamsters Canada says if Canada Post workers go on strike or are locked out, its members at Purolator won't handle any packages postmarked or identified as originating from the carrier.
Canada urged to cut government-funded research collaborations with China: report
A newly released report is urging Canada to immediately end all government-funded research collaborations with China in a variety of different areas.
Measles cases in New Brunswick continues to climb
The number of measles cases in New Brunswick continues to climb. Officials with New Brunswick’s Department of Health said as of Thursday, the number of confirmed cases since October has reached 43.
B.C.'s chief vet tells clinics to set up bird flu protocols amid human exposure risk
British Columbia's chief veterinarian has told clinics that treat wild birds that they must establish protocols to prevent the spread of avian flu, warning of the risk of human exposure to the illness.
Police release bodycam video of officer-involved incident at Hindu temple protest in Brampton, Ont.
Police say an officer who forcefully removed a 'weapon' from a protester outside of a Hindu temple in Brampton was acting 'within the lawful execution of his duties' after bystander video of the incident circulated widely online.
Here's how a potential Canada Post strike may affect Canadians
A disruption in Canada Post services would hit some Canadians harder than others. As the deadline approaches for a potential strike at midnight Friday, CTVNews.ca asked readers how it would affect them and how they are preparing.
Police foil attempted $13,000 cheese theft in North Vancouver
Police in North Vancouver say they prevented the theft of nearly $13,000 worth of cheese from a grocery store earlier this year. Now, they're asking the public for help finding the alleged thief.