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A 33-foot Egg Harbor, Sportfish motor yacht that was heading back to shore after experiencing engine troubles around 6 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 13, suddenly caught fire and exploded approximately 100 yards from the shore, officials said.
Three couples (six people) were onboard at the time of the explosion, with two suffering injuries before leaping into the water.
"Two off-duty firefighters, Jim Lyons from Norwalk and Nick Marsan from Westport Fire Department, dove in the water to assist the boaters, on to the dock of the club and a nearby resident, Tony Aitoro, jumped in his boat and raced to the scene with life rings and life preservers to assist," fire officials said.
The boat was towed back to shore by the Norwalk Fire Department, where the fire was extinguished. A total of 24 firefighters responded to the scene, with two fireboats, two engines, two ladder trucks, a rescue, and a command vehicle. Stamford's fireboat also responded for backup.
State environmental and conservation police, as well as US Coast Guard officials, were advised. The boat was scheduled to be removed from the water on Friday, Aug. 14.
“Norwalk Firefighters responded with their two fireboats to first pull the fully involved boat from the channel and to ground it on the beach, to limit the environmental impact and keep the channel open,” fire officials said. “Once the burning boat was beached the other fireboat finished extinguishing the fire.”
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