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UPDATE: One injured in Pitt Lake boat fire

Boat ‘exploded’ into flame, fire chief says
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One person was taken to hospital with what were described as “significant” injuries after a boat exploded into flames at the Grant Narrows Boat launch in Pitt Lake Sunday around noon.

Pitt Meadows Fire Chief Mike Larsson said the woman was with a group of people who were preparing to take a older 21-foot power wake ski boat out for the first time since it had been stored for the winter.

“When they fired it up to leave the dock, it exploded,” Larsson told the Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows News.

READ ALSO: Two fires in one day kept Pitt Meadows crews busy

The injured woman was transported to hospital by air ambulance with what are believed to be second-degree burns to both legs and first- and second-degree burns to one arm.

The explosion was possibly the result of a fuel vapor leak, Larsson said.

The fire spread to a piling on the dock, but crews using water from their tanks were able to get the blaze under control despite the lack of a fire hydrant.

Larsson said a man in a boat volunteered to tow the burned-out 21-footer to shore.

“It was burnt to the waterline,” Larsson said, ” we didn’t want it sinking.”

Crews were on scene for several hours.

READ ALSO: House fire in Maple Ridge on Friday afternoon


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