Fire destroys marina building, some boats

MEREDITH — A two-alarm fire that sent flames shooting into the sky destroyed a building and four boats at Meredith Marina late Thursday afternoon.

The fire was spotted shortly before 4:45 p.m. Thursday by a marina employee who called 9-1-1, Fire Chief Ken Jones said.

The fire destroyed a 50-by-50 metal building used for service and maintenance, the chief said. A boat that was inside the building was destroyed as were three others which were stored outside close to the building’s back wall.

Two to three explosions, caused when petroleum products inside the building ignited, intensified the fire, the chief said.

In addition to the four boats that were destroyed, another two or three received significant damage, Jones said.

No one was inside the building when the fire started, according to the chief, and no injuries were reported. Firefighters had to contend with temperatures in the low 20s as they worked to bring the blaze under control.

Jones said he was at the fire station, a short distance from the marina at 2 Bayshore Drive, when the alarm came in. Heavy, black smoke was coming from the building and fire was beginning to show as he arrived on the scene, prompting him to call for a first alarm summoning personnel and equipment from several neighboring fire departments. He called for a second alarm shortly afterward, he said.

The chief said that the origin or cause of the fire remains undetermined pending an investigation, which will be conducted by the department in collaboration with the state Fire Marshal’s Office.

The state Department of Environmental Services was called to the scene because some contaminants from the fire scene had flowed into Meredith Bay.

Firefighters used water and foam to bring the fire under control because of the nature of the materials that were burning, Jones said.

A demolition excavator was brought in to move some of the debris so firefighters could extinguish any remaining hot spots.