Boat fire at New Rochelle's Imperial Yacht Club sends mother, child to hospital
A fire at New Rochelle's Imperial Yacht Club early Saturday morning injured two people and destroyed seven boats.
The two victims, a mother and child, were taken to a local hospital, where they were treated for smoke inhalation. Officials believe they were on one of the boats that caught fire; they were sitting in a car when first responders arrived.
"Sounded like lightning hit"
The fire broke out around 12:45 a.m., and within minutes, multiple boats were ablaze.
New Rochelle resident Ralph Rios was fast asleep on his boat when he heard what sounded like an explosion.
"It blasted. Sounded like lightning hit, and I didn't know. And when I came out I was like, oh God, oh God. I was really shook because there's always people in that boat. There's always people living in that boat. Lucky they were in Florida. I don't know if the girl and the baby were in that boat [or] in the next boat," he said.
Rios ran outside in the freezing cold with no phone, keys or money.
"I was scared it was going to blow up while I was trying to run up the ramp," he said.
While the boats were on fire, the New Rochelle fire chief says they started drifting, destroying the tie lines.
New Rochelle, Port Washington and FDNY Marine units all responded. They were able to get the fire under control within two hours, saving dozens of boats.
Among the seven destroyed boats were two 40-foot recreational vessels that both sank.
"Considerable damage to the property, but mostly to the boat owners. Some of those people live on them, so they lost their homes," marina owner John Giacobbe said.
Officials working to address fuel spill at New Rochelle marina
There's an estimated 100 gallons of diesel fuel that leaked into the water, according to officials.
"All the boats in here probably have between 200 and 400 gallons of diesel. We have units out here putting absorbent pads in the water," Harbormaster Sal Gugliara said.
The New Rochelle Harbormaster is working with the U.S. Coast Guard and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to address the fuel spill and other contaminants in the water.
Boats are still being salvaged from the water. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
