Residents of the Los Angeles coastal town of Marina del Rey witnessed a massive spectacle Wednesday night when a 30-foot yacht moored in the harbor was engulfed in flames by a dangerous combination of fireworks and live ammunition fired from the ship.
Accordingly KTLA 5 NewsEmergency crews from the Los Angeles County Fire Department were called to a report of the fire shortly after 8:30 p.m. Two passengers on board at the time reportedly escaped the blaze unharmed, while the yacht’s owner told firefighters that 1,000 rounds of ammunition were stored on the starboard side of the ship.
The uncontrollable flames were seen in footage sent to the Citizen App, but as crews began working to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby boats and other structures, fireworks began to go off, making attempts to extinguish the blaze even more difficult.
Eventually firefighters managed to extinguish the worst of the flames, but even then, thick black smoke was rising from the large vessel, The Admiral, and the fire was still burning below decks, probably where ammunition was stored.
Aerial footage taken by a news helicopter showed The Admiral badly damaged by the fire. Just before 10:30 p.m., the ship began to sink as water from the fire hoses hit, adding to the damage done to the ship. First responders deployed a boom around the area around the boat to prevent contaminants such as diesel fuel from leaking into the marina.
It is unclear how the fire started and the cause is currently under investigation, but thankfully there were no reports of injuries to passengers or emergency personnel.