WEST ALTON, Mo. — Several boats were underwater Thursday morning after an overnight dock fire in West Alton.
Six boats sank to the bottom of the Mississippi River at the Harbor Point Yacht Club Wednesday night after becoming fully engulfed in flames.
Other boats on the dock were also damaged following the fire that could have easily turned deadly. Fortunately, there are no injuries reported at this time.
We’re told the fire started around 9:30 p.m. and the flames began to spread. One by one, six boats caught fire, burned, then sank in the water.
A number of local agencies, including the Rivers Point Fire Protection District, responded to the harbor to help put out the flames.
There are still a lot of questions about what caused this fire.
5 On Your Side spoke to Rivers Pointe Fire Chief Rick Pender about what investigators know so far.
“Six boats that were on fire, they are a total loss. There’s minimal damage to the other boats surrounding that area. They sustained damage, but I would say it’s minimal at this point,” he said.
We spoke to one man from Crestwood, Ed Lang, who has two boats on the dock that were damaged by the fire but did not sink.
“Our boat was cosmetically damaged, and our cover was burned off of our roundabout. But I don't know how much damage is inside yet, we haven’t gotten in there. There may be some smoke damage. But, we’re a lot more fortunate than these other folks who lost boats completely,” Lang said.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Chief Pender told 5 On Your Side fires like these become more common as the temperatures drop.
“Whether it's these boats or houses, or anything else, folks use heaters, extension cords, things of that nature,” he said. “A lot of things [with which] the fire risk increases. For this type of weather and this time of year, it's not out of the ordinary to see this type of damage or these types of fires start.”