After an overnight fire torched three boats, destroying them and damaging a pier, first responders want to remind the public about safety measures to take while out on the water on Memorial Day - one of the busiest boating days of the year.
The fire happened at the Columbia Island Marina after midnight Sunday morning. Investigators have not released a cause, but nobody was hurt.
D.C. Fire and EMS Public Information Officer Vito Maggiolo said these fires can be destructive for a number of reasons.
"Once they catch fire, they can burn very quickly. They're plastic, they're wood, and also they have fuel. They're a vessel and carry fuel. That combination will cause a fire to quickly envelop the boat," Maggiolo said. "Because the boats are very close to each other in the marina, fire will quickly spread, as it did last night. A combination of attacking the fire from both the land and the water, we were able to cut the fire off before it can spread even beyond that. Marina fires can be very bad and very dangerous."
Hours after crews extinguished the fire, onlookers could not believe what they were seeing: the charred boats still floating on the water.
"We saw pictures of it, and we were going to check on our boat anyways and thought, 'Let's go check this out,'" said Christine Dolan, a boater.
Fires are not the only safety hazard first responders want boaters to be aware of.
With many people expected to be on the water Monday, Maggiolo said he wants to remind people to be responsible.
"People do like to drink. They like the recreational component of the water, but just like we tell people don't drink and drive when you're on a boat, you're driving," Maggiolo said.
Boaters are well aware of how dangerous it can get when drinking and boating.
"The drinking, everybody loves it. You want to be in the water. I would recommend to be careful because you're in the water, anybody can fall, nobody knows the person is there, the Potomac has currents. You have to be very very careful," said Orlando Karpf, a boater.
While out on the water, boaters told 7News it's easy to spot recklessness.
"I'm ex-Coast Guard reserve and I did search-and-rescue for law enforcement in Florida. I find that overall the D.C. boating community does a good job with boater safety," said Tom Dolan, a boater.
His wife Christine added: "It's pretty easy to spot the knuckleheads that are out there. When they come out, there are certain tell-tale signs. You see them, kind of like out in the road if you're an alert driver, get out of their way."
Maggiolo said there are other precautions to take.
"We have full staffing on at least two fire boats. We up staff when there's extra boating activity. Our responsibilities are primarily rescue, fire operations, rescue operations," Maggiolo said. "The most critical is everybody on the vessel should have a personal flotation device: children, adults. You need to have those devices. It's preferred you have them on, but at least have them at the ready so in an emergency, God forbid, you have to leave the vessel, you're prepared for that. When you take your vessel out, make sure it's functioning properly. Check it out beforehand. Know the rules of the road so you don't get yourself in an emergency situation where we need to come and assist you. Every vessel should have a carbon monoxide detector and smoke alarm. You should have a working fire extinguisher on the boat."
Maggiolo also recommends having a cell phone or a two-way radio. On that two-way radio, you can access the emergency channel, channel 16.