ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — More than 100 boats were destroyed after a fire at a St. Charles County marina Wednesday afternoon.
According to a spokesperson for the St. Charles County Ambulance District, crews responded to the Woodland Marina around 2:45 p.m. A spokesperson said a boat was in storage when it caught fire and “quickly escalated,” which caused the entire building to catch fire.
One person suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to a hospital. Officials said that person has been released from the hospital as of Thursday afternoon. A firefighter was also transported with a heat-related illness and has since been released.
Orchard Farm's fire chief said everything inside the rack storage area of the marina sustained some sort of damage. Fire chief Jeremy Hollrah said 140 boats were destroyed during the fire.
As of 6 p.m. on Wednesday, the fire was contained, but firefighters remained on scene hours later.
The Orchard Farm Fire Protection District said multiple small fires that were unable to be accessed due to the instability of the collapse were monitored and controlled through the morning hours of Thursday.
Officials said crews remain on scene working with contractors and property owners to extinguish remaining hot spots.
The Missouri State Fire Marshal’s office was requested to the scene as well and the investigation continues into the cause of the fire. Initial results show an accidental ignition of gasoline fumes in the boat storage area on a boat that was being repaired.
5 On Your Side's Robert Townsend spoke to Richard Reichert. His boat went up in flames.
“It’s sad. I’d say it was worth in the $50,000 to $60,000 range. Boats are replaceable. Lives are not, so we’ll go from there,” Reichert said.
Photos: Fire at Woodland Marina
“We didn’t know which way the wind was gonna go," Angie Wiseman said.
Wiseman raced home and saw her boyfriend in panic.
“He thought the fire was gonna hit our house. He was terrified. We have boats and trailers over there,” Wiseman said.
Fortunately, the couple didn’t lose any of their boats.
