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Two people escaped a boat fire near Davis Islands

A 30-foot-boat caught fire at about 4:30 p.m. Monday. One person suffered severe injuries.
 
Tampa Fire Rescue extinguished a boat fire near the Davis Island boat ramp on Sept. 14, 2020.
Tampa Fire Rescue extinguished a boat fire near the Davis Island boat ramp on Sept. 14, 2020. [ Tampa Fire Rescue ]
Published Sept. 15, 2020

Two people escaped a burning boat near the Davis Island boat ramp Monday afternoon, according to Tampa Fire Rescue. One was taken to the hospital with severe injuries.

Crews responded to the fire at about 4:30 p.m. The 30-foot boat had likely been moored in the Seaplane Basin south of Peter O. Knight Airport, but broke away from its mooring because of the fire, the agency said.

Firefighters battled the flames more more than an hour, hooking their hoses to land-based engine companies and deploying a fireboat that doused the fire from the water. Crews got the blaze under control by 6 p.m. By then, the flames had burned through the boat and left it a flattened black husk.

Two people on the boat were able to escape. One was transported to Tampa General Hospital as a trauma alert because of injuries related to the fire, the agency said.

It’s not yet clear what caused the fire and the fire marshal’s office is investigating.

“From what I was told, that area is known to have people moored out there living on those boats,” said Tampa Fire Spokesperson Jason Penny. “Based on the way the boat looked in the aftermath, I think it’s going to take some real piecing together.”

This is a developing story. Stay with tampabay.com for updates.