Two hurt and boats wrecked after explosive marina blaze
Traumatised owner: ‘I’m grieving my wife and now I’ve lost my vessel too’
The owner of a boat destroyed in an inferno which left two people needing hospital treatment and wrecked four vessels says he feels like he is grieving.
The River Medway was closed at Hampstead Marina in Yalding at noon on Sunday following the blaze, with eyewitnesses describing hearing dozens of explosions.
It is understood one vessel erupted into flames, throwing its owner from the deck, and began drifting towards others, setting three more alight.
Bernard Snell, owner of the Grey Owl narrowboat, arrived just after 1pm to find clouds of thick black smoke bellowing across the sky.
The 84-year-old spoke of his horror at the scene before him.
“It’s all still very raw,” he told the Kent Messenger.
“I’m grieving all over again after losing my wife Joyce in November.
“I have my memories but all of my treasures and photographs have been lost.
“I’ve taken my boat across Europe and up and down all the waterways in the UK. This is quite traumatising.
“It was like losing your right arm – I don’t think I’ll be getting another boat.
“People keep asking me what am I going to do even though it has only been a couple of days but at 84 they say the best is behind you.
“I was booked to be heading to the River Festival in Maidstone but one day you’re set to go there, the next you have no boat.”
The former photographer got into boating when a house purchase fell through.
He put money aside to buy the new property but once the process stilted he instead invested it into the Grey Owl.
One of his favourite memories is taking a trip to Scotland to visit the Falkirk Wheel.
But for Bernard this tragedy could pull the curtain across his time as a sailor.
He added: “It’s special in one’s life to go places you otherwise couldn’t get to without a boat and watch the sunrise from over the hills and river and is something that I will surely miss.”
Three fire engines and a bulk water carrier spent around twoand-a-half hours putting out the blaze. Two people were treated by paramedics and taken to hosPeople
pital. One suffered burns while the other was treated for smoke inhalation.
A nearby resident, who witnessed the events unfold said there was lots of billowing black, heavy, thick smoke and panicked people.
She said: “We heard an explosion, went into our bedroom and saw the boat on fire in the lock, just floating.
“I called 999 immediately and at this point the boat had started to drift away from the lock downstream.
“I told the fire brigade it was about to set fire to another boat, but it missed and ended up coming towards our house, which was horrifically scary.
“My partner and I ran outside and hosed down our house and the surrounding area, to try to stop a bushfire from happening.”
She explained how residents came together to save the community, adding: “The team spirit was phenomenal.
“We were throwing buckets of water and soaking the land down the pathway by the river.
“One man who owned one of the boats managed to save it by moving it out of the way. But all the others caught fire – it was like a domino effect.
“There were several explosions, up into the 20s – the first boat exploded several times, it was quite terrifying.
“A couple of boats have now sunk, and there are half-torched boats just left there. It’s really, really sad.”
The cause of the fire has not yet been confirmed. The marina was closed until Tuesday.
A marker buoy remains in the water to warn boaters of any potential debris left over.
‘We heard an explosion and saw the boat on fire in the lock, just floating. It ended up coming towards our house, which was horrifically scary’