No foul play suspected in boat fire at a Salmon Arm beach

Several beach goers in Salmon Arm were alarmed to see a large, black plume of smoke rising from the cove at Canoe Beach today.

Salmon Arm Fire Chief Brad Shirley explained that five boats caught fire at the Captain’s Cove Marina.

"We received a call just prior to 1 p.m.," Shirley said. "Arriving on scene, there were five boats fully involved with fire as well as a portion of the dock system."

Crews were able to quickly extinguish the blaze and prevent further spread.

One of the boats had just been fuelled, and when the engine was started, there was a gasoline vapour explosion, he said. However, fire investigators have yet to confirm this as the cause.

"Quick-thinking staff were able to push the boat away from the fuel dock and shut off the fuel source to the gas pumps," he said.

"Unfortunately the boat on fire drifted into four others, igniting them on fire as well as the surrounding dock." 

B.C. Emergency Health Services received a call at 12:55 p.m. from the Salmon Arm Fire Department and two paramedic crews were dispatched to the scene.

An occupant on the boat suffered non-life-threatening injuries from the explosion and was transported to hospital.

RCMP were also on scene assisting fire crews by blocking traffic to the area.

"They said there's nothing suspicious, so we didn't have too much involvement," said Cpl. Jamie Leverrier of the Salmon Arm RCMP.

—This story was updated at 4:50 p.m. July 27 to add information on the incident from the Salmon Arm Fire Department.

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