Lobster Boat Catches Fire off Massachusetts
Emergency personnel are responding to a 28-foot lobster boat ablaze near Ipswich, Mass., Friday, the U.S. Coast Guard reported.
The lobster boat’s operator hailed Coast Guard watchstanders at about 9:30 a.m. stating his boat Dawn Breaker was on fire and he was abandoning ship after attempting to put out the fire with a portable fire extinguisher.
The man donned his immersion suit, gave his exact location from his portable VHF radio and jumped from the burning boat into the water, taking with him his personal locator beacon. He was picked up by a nearby vessel in less than 15 minutes.
U.S. Coast Guard emergency crews from Stations Merrimack River and Gloucester, along with Ipswich and Gloucester Fire Department, arrived on scene to battle the blaze and recover the man from the Good Samaritan's boat. The man has been safely picked up by the Ipswitch fire department and taken to shore where was evaluated by EMTs, the Coast Guard said.
"This is the mark of a true professional mariner," said Petty officer 1st Class Darin Crozier, a watchstander at Coast Guard Sector Boston's command center. "He was prepared and did everything right — he donned his immersion suit, communicated his location clearly with his radio, and abandoned ship with his locator beacon."