{"id":3656,"date":"2020-01-28T17:31:55","date_gmt":"2020-01-28T22:31:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.greatflorida.com\/?p=3656"},"modified":"2026-05-12T20:30:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T00:30:39","slug":"boat-fires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/2020\/boat-fires\/","title":{"rendered":"Boat Fires"},"content":{"rendered":"

Monday morning a tragic scene occurred when a blaze broke out in Scottsboro, AL at a marina that accommodates boats, houseboats and pontoon vessels. According to U<\/a>SA Today<\/a>, eight people are confirmed dead, while 35 vessels burned. Some boats sank at the dock while others drifted from their moorings and sank. Authorities are unsure what caused the fire.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoat fires are rare,\u201d says Dustyn Shroff<\/a>, Vice President of GreatFlorida Insurance<\/a>, Florida\u2019s largest independent boat insurance<\/a> agency.  While infrequent, when boat fires to occur, they can get out of control quickly. <\/p>\n

In 2018, the U.S. Coast Guard<\/a> (USCG) reported 337 vessels were involved in a fire. Most accidents involved fuel and were the result of spilled fuel or fuel vapors. These incidents often produce explosions more than fire.<\/p>\n

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http:\/\/wow.uscgaux.info\/content.php?unit=130&category=rec-boat-safety#.XjC112hKjIU<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

A boat fire can result in a total loss. \u201cProperty losses are over $10 million annually due to boat fires,\u201d says Dustyn Shroff<\/a>, Vice President of GreatFlorida Insurance<\/a>, Florida\u2019s top independent boat insurance<\/a> agency.  <\/p>\n

Boat fires are preventable. Be sure to avoid a lapse in
\nmaintenance and check your fuel-system regularly. Faulty wiring or corrosion in
\nyour wires should be repaired right away. Always keep the proper number of
\nworking fire extinguishers on board. No matter what type of boat fire you are
\nfighting, extinguishing foams and dry chemicals can be used on any fire.
\nHowever, water will almost always exacerbate the problem.<\/p>\n

Take extra precaution to prevent boat fires and know how to extinguish them. The USCG<\/a> has an easy to remember acronym should one occur.<\/p>\n

F<\/strong>IND the fire and determine its
\nsize.<\/p>\n

I<\/strong>NFORM all passengers, move them
\naway from the fire, get them into life jackets and prepare to abandon ship.
\nMake a distress call.<\/p>\n

R<\/strong>ESTRICT the fire. Shut hatches
\nand reduce the air supply to the fire. Turn off power to the electrical systems
\nand close off fuel lines and ventilation. If fire occurs at the dock, move passengers
\nand portable fuel tanks ashore.<\/p>\n

E<\/strong>XTINGUISH the fire.<\/p>\n

GreatFlorida Insurance<\/a> can customize a boat insurance<\/a> policy to protect your vessel and extend to your boating equipment<\/a> in and out of the water. Give us a call today. <\/p>\n

\n
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https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/florida-boat-insurance<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Monday morning a tragic scene occurred when a blaze broke out in Scottsboro, AL at a marina that accommodates boats, houseboats and pontoon vessels. According to USA Today, eight people are confirmed dead, while 35 vessels burned. Some boats sank at the dock while others drifted from their moorings and sank. Authorities are unsure what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1219,"featured_media":3666,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3,6,1,5,7,8,82,89,9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3656","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boat-insurance","8":"category-auto-insurance","9":"category-commercial-insurance","10":"category-floridainsurance","11":"category-homeowners-insurance","12":"category-motorcycle-insurance","13":"category-renters-insurance","14":"category-rv-insurance","15":"category-travel-insurance","16":"category-umbrella-insurance"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1219"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3656"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3656\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14152,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3656\/revisions\/14152"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}