Alabama boat fire: At least eight people confirmed dead after 'devastating' dock blaze

Bonnie Christian27 January 2020

At least eight people have been killed in an explosive fire that burned dozens of boats docked at a marina in northern Alabama.

Scottsboro Fire Chief Gene Necklaus said the number of fatalities could rise because it is still not known how many people were on the boats that sank.

The fire began just after midnight local time (6am GMT) at Jackson County Park Marinaon the Tennessee river and quickly spread as people were sleeping.

The wooden dock of at least 35 vessels went up in flames and an aluminium roof that covered many of the boats melted and collapsed, cutting off escape routes and raining debris over the area as boaters leapt into the river.

A row of boats are engulfed in flames after catching fire at the marina in Scottsboro, Alabama
SOUTHERN TORCH via REUTERS

Julie Jackson, who lives with her husband and son in a houseboat on another dock at the marina witnessed the fire.

"It was scary. The worst thing for me is you could hear people screaming for help, and there was nothing we could do. Nobody could do anything to get to them.”

Mandy Durham, who was with her boyfriend in a nearby boat said: "We woke up hearing screams and popping noises.

"When we woke up, we could see red through the window."

People on boats patrol near the charred remains of the dock
AP

"Within 15 to 20 minutes, the whole dock was in flames," she added. "All these boats have propane tanks and gas tanks, and that's a lot of fire."

At least seven people were sent to hospitals suffering from exposure to the flames or the frigid water.

Ms Durham said people were jumping onto a boat at the end of the dock because fire had consumed the middle portion and that was their only escape.

But, she said once the flames spread to that boat, the water was their only way out.

At least eight people died in the blaze
AP

"Water was the only place they had to go," she added, "It's just extremely sad. It's horrible."

Ms Durham said most of the boats that were destroyed had people living on them permanently, but some mainly spent weekends on them.

"Everybody is just hoping to find the ones they knew on that dock. There were families there. It's devastating,” she said.

Mr Necklaus said some of the burning boats sank at the dock and others floated away before going under.

The remains of a boat following the devastating blaze
AP

He added that divers need to locate each one and search them individually before they can be sure there were no other victims.

Jackson County Chief Sheriff's Deputy Rocky Harnen said: "There were numerous people rescued from the water who had escaped by going into the water.

"We're trying to get divers down here to search for possible victims."

Georgia resident Michael Watson said his aunt lived with her husband and five children on one of the boats that burned.

The remains of a dock where at least 35 vessels, many of them houseboats, were destroyed by fire
AP

He said his aunt was confirmed among the dead and authorities are still looking for the other six family members.

Officials have not released the names of any of those killed or missing.

Reaching the victims proved challenging for rescue crews.

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