The fire that broke out this Sunday on a modern yacht that was in the Merrill-Stevens Yachts shipyard, next to the Miami river, caused an impressivefire in a hangar, from which a thick column of smoke was seen coming out.
More than 32 City of Miami Firefighters units and 100 firefighters responded to the scene, located near Northwest 12th Avenue and 11th Street.
“They found an 82-foot, state-of-the-art boat, completely engulfed in flames,” said Miami Fire Rescue LieutenantPete Sanchez, in statements collected by7 News.
Videos posted on social media showed thick smoke billowing from the boathouse. However, the work of the firefighters prevented the damage to the shipyard from being greater.
“There were also other yachts surrounding that yacht. The firefighters were able to unhook them because they were obviously in the water,” Sánchez said. “They were able to unhook them and get them out into the canal, making sure they weren't affected, because this is a covered structure where the boats are in the water and there was a lot of smoke because the flames were so intense.”
Apparently, the damaged boat is a state-of-the-art yachtVision F2, which several shipyard employees and crews were spraying with hoses for almost two hours.
The boat is made of materials that firefighters said ignited more fumes and made the fire difficult to control.
“And there was the fireboat and the City of Miami Hazardous Materials [Response] Team, who carried out a foam operation to be able to extinguish this fire,” Sánchez said. “We found some hot spots, because this is a state-of-the-art yacht with materials that are difficult to extinguish. “It also has solar panels on top and lots of electric batteries.”
Fortunately, there was no one on board the yacht when the fire started. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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