Multiple boats catch fire ‘in extreme cold’ at Missouri marina, fire department says

Six boats are a total loss after a fire ripped through a Missouri marina amid “extreme cold” and strong winds, officials say.

Firefighters were called to the Harbor Point Yacht Club in West Alton at about 9 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 5, according to the Spanish Lake Fire Protection District. Upon arrival, they found multiple docked boats were on fire.

Photos from the department show billowing smoke rise from the dock as flames engulfed several boats. Firefighters used about 100 gallons of fire foam to extinguish the flames.

“Crews battled in extreme cold temperatures and windy conditions throughout the night,” the Rivers Pointe Fire Protection District shared to Facebook shortly before 2:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 6.

In addition to the six boat losses, officials say the dock structure and other boats were damaged. No injuries have been reported.

“Our boat was cosmetically damaged, and our cover was burned off of our roundabout,” Ed Lang told KSDK. “But I don’t know how much damage is inside yet, we haven’t gotten in there. There may be some smoke damage. But, we’re a lot more fortunate than these other folks who lost boats completely.”

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Rivers Pointe Fire Chief Rick Pender told the St. Louis TV station.

“Whether it’s these boats or houses, or anything else, folks use heaters, extension cords, things of that nature,” he told KSDK. “A lot of things (with which) the fire risk increases. For this type of weather and this time of year, it’s not out of the ordinary to see this type of damage or these types of fires start.”

Harbor Point Yacht Club is a private marina on the Mississippi River, according to its website. It is about 20 miles north of St. Louis.

This story was originally published January 6, 2022 at 8:48 AM with the headline "Multiple boats catch fire ‘in extreme cold’ at Missouri marina, fire department says."