NTSB: ALA. BOAT DOCK FIRE AN ACCIDENT

‘Limited fire safety practices’ worsened Jan. marina blaze

A fire that killed eight people and did more than $500,000 damage at an Alabama marina started accidentally but was worsened by the marina’s “limited fire safety practices,” according to a federal report.

The National Transportation Safety Board, in a report released this month, said the Jan. 27 fire started near the electrical panel of a houseboat named Dixie Delight at the Jackson County Park Marina in Scottsboro. The fire spread quickly because of the abundance of combustible lawn furniture and propane cylinders for barbecue grills on the dock and boat decks. The report found the county and marina’s “limited fire safety practices” contributing to the severity of the fire and loss of life.

“The fire spread due to the neighboring vessels of similar fiberglass construction, an abundance of combustible lawn furniture on the vessel decks and open dock areas, and the presence of portable liquid propane cylinders used for barbecue grills, which all increased the dock’s fire load,” the report found.

The marina did not have to adhere to current fire code standards that requires annual electrical inspections, fire response training and fire drills because it was built before those standards were adopted, but investigators said marinas should still have measures and guidelines in place to prevent and mitigate accidents for all moored boats and their occupants,” the report stated.

Investigators could not determine the cause of the fire, but they ruled in April that the fire was accidental.