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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Ryan Thom

Mysterious boat fire tackled by RNLI at Ayrshire harbour

An abandoned boat caught fire at an Ayrshire harbour last night.

Emergency services raced to Girvan Harbour to deal with the unmanned boat with the drama unfolding just before midnight.

A complex mission took place to extinguish the flames using jets from the engine of a lifeboat and fire hoses; with three fire appliances called to the coast.

Police also attended the scene.

No one was injured with the occupants of the boat not on board at the time.

In a bid to prevent the blaze reaching other docked boats, Girvan RNLI stepped in to assist the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service as they tackled the well-developed fire around 11.57pm.

The blaze was endangering other boats docked at the harbour (Girvan RNLI)

The volunteer crew were called after the alarm was raised as the blazing boat was drifting towards the harbour basin.

Fire crews had been blasting the boat with powerful hoses which pushed it further out towards the opposite side of the harbour after they were called to the empty 18ft vessel.

Around half-an-hour later, Girvan RNLI were scrambled to the scene to help firefighters tackle the flames.

Using the wash from the lifeboats water jet engines, they were able to push the burning boat back to towards firefighters.

The lifeboat crew then used their own fire hose to create a protective cool fan of water between it and the burning boat.

Crews battled to control the blaze at Girvan Harbour (Girvan RNLI)

A spokesperson for Girvan RNLI said: "This protected the lifeboat and crew by creating a barrier wall of water from the searing heat and smoke from the burning boat."

After the fire was extinguished, the lifeboat hooked the stricken boat to allow fire crews to finish damping down and investigate the damage.

Girvan coastguard rescue team performed a further search of the immediate area around the harbour.

A spokesperson added: "The occupants of the boat were not aboard at the time of the blaze and no injuries were sustained by anyone involved.

"At the height of the incident three fire appliances were in attendance along with multiple units from Police Scotland and coastguard rescue teams, their senior officer and ourselves."

A spokesperson for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: "We were alerted at 11.35pm on Wednesday, August 25 to reports of a boat on fire at a marina at Knockcushan Street, Girvan."

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 11.40pm on Wednesday, August 26, we received a report of a vessel on fire in Girvan Harbour.

“Emergency services attended and the fire was extinguished by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. No one was injured in the incident. Enquiries to establish the circumstances surrounding the fire are ongoing.”

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