Man burned as family flee boat fire

May 7 2009 By Russell Butt

Firefighters douse the remains of the pleasure boat

A TRANQUIL bank holiday boat trip nearly ended in disaster after a pleasure boat exploded at a lock, burning the driver.

The riverside peace was shattered around 12.43pm on Saturday when the Birchwood 22 boat burst into flames as the gates opened at Old Windsor Lock, just north of Runnymede.

A couple and two children escaped the craft and called emergency services. The male driver was treated for minor burns to his face at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading.

Third in line to follow the boat through the lock was a vessel owned by pleasure boat hire company Rainbow Cruisers, whose moorings are at Penton Hook Marina, Thorpe.

Company owner Sam Dawson said their boat, which had been hired for the day by a family celebrating a birthday, was covered in soot, but the hull of the boat in front of it had been burned and melted.

He said: “The family said the lock gates were just about to open and, as the driver of the first boat started the engine up, it just exploded and the roof blew up in the air. They said the flames were 10 to 12 feet high and it was quite scary.”

“Obviously we were lucky our boat was not burned, but the most important thing is that no one was hurt,” added Mr Dawson.

The lock was closed while firefighters spent an hour-and-a-half extinguishing the flames. To avoid sinking the boat, they had to be careful with the volume of water used, and they also had to take extra precautions because pressurised cooking gas canisters were on board.

An Environment Agency spokesman said the cause of the fire was still under investigation.