4/18/2008

There were some tense moments on one of the Chattanooga Ducks this afternoon.  Shortly after 1:00 p.m., the combination road vehicle and boat was on the Tennessee River near McClellan Island when the boat's captain, Barry Cole, started smelling smoke.  As he headed back to the dock with his 22 passengers, smoke started coming from the engine compartment. 

Capt. Cole said the boat has an automatic fire extinguishing system in the engine compartment, and it activated, but that also cut power to the engine.  With the boat drifting downstream, Capt. Cole instructed his passengers to put on their personal floatation devices, and he used his marine radio to call for help.  Another Duck and the Chattanooga Fire Department responded.

Employees with Marine Max apparently saw what was happening from their dock and immediately took a boat out to assist.  While Capt. Cole used two portable fire extinguishers to make sure the fire was out, the Marine Max employees transferred the passengers to their boat and took them to the nearby boat dock.  Some of the children on board were shaken up and crying, but no injuries were reported.

When Chattanooga firefighters arrived at the boat dock, the Duck was out of the water, the fire was completely out and all of the passengers were accounted for. The fire damage was relatively minor.  Commander Don Eaves with Engine 12 said Capt. Cole did an excellent job in handling the emergency, and he commended the employees with Marine Max for responding so quickly.

Capt. Cole said he's headed boat excursions like this for 15 years, but "this was the first time I've ever asked my passengers to put their life vests on."  He added that this was the first trip for this particular Duck, which had just been certified after an inspection by the U.S. Coast Guard yesterday.

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