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View Full Version : EXPLOSION @ Martinez



89checkmate
07-14-2002, 11:20 AM
On saturday at around 11 http://free.***boat.net/ubb/redface.gifoam, three teenagers were filling up a pontoon boat and spilled gasoline everywhere, when the dad went to start the engine, the engine exploded. causing a huge fire. The three teenagers where life flighted to san diego with third degree burns, the dad was taken to the yuma hospital. The fire took out 5 boats, 4 pontoon boats and 1 picklefork and three of them were still sunk when we left on sunday morning.
Does anyone have any more info?

got river?
07-14-2002, 12:07 PM
That sounds like the worst one I have heard about in a while. I hope somebody can give us some details.

Beautiful Noise
07-14-2002, 12:14 PM
I havent heard any new about this one yet.Just a short story tho when I was a kid (won't say how long ago) My dad was at the gas dock fueling up the person pumping the gas at the dock over spilled and the gas went into the bulge he never said anything to my dad. My dad idled out about 50 yards and the boat exploded killing my 2 young cousins and putting my dad and my older cousin in the hospital for 3 months.
Steve

Dans66Stevens
07-14-2002, 12:20 PM
WOW that is some Story!!!!!!

DogHouse
07-14-2002, 12:47 PM
Wow, I am very sorry to hear of both incidents. I hope those involved will heal quickly. Burns are no fun at all.
-brian

ROZ
07-14-2002, 02:39 PM
This must bet the accident my wife was talking about. She works at UCSD MEdical center and told me that they received a serious Trauma that was resulted from a boating accident in Yuma.
Please, people be alert out there. You never know when a good time will go bad.
I don't know how bad the burns are, but it's going to be a tough and painful recovery.
I wish them well.

cheezpanel
07-14-2002, 03:15 PM
We saw the smoke yesterday from Ferguson Lake. Didn't have any info at the time. My thoughts are with those injured.

89checkmate
07-14-2002, 05:17 PM
Here is the link to the newspaper article on the explosion @ Lake Martinez. It's such a tragedy
http://www.yumasun.com/artman/publish/story_766.shtml

Bubbledeck2
07-14-2002, 05:40 PM
Here's a clip from the aforementioned article .. gotta love those journalists
>> The boats involved were a apparently a combination of house boats, pontoons and speeders.<<<

ROZ
07-14-2002, 07:30 PM
Originally posted by Bubbledeck2:
Here's a clip from the aforementioned article .. gotta love those journalists
>> The boats involved were a apparently a combination of house boats, pontoons and speeders.<<<
It looks to me like he is classifying a speedboat as a "speeder". Not that seeding was involved. But ya never know.

gigamurph
07-14-2002, 07:54 PM
Damn shame. Hoping for a speedy and complete recovery for those involved.

Rubths
07-15-2002, 03:26 PM
I wasnt at the docs when it happend but was able to get over there preaty quick when I saw the black smoke, when I got there only one pontoon boat was on fire but quickly spread to the others in minutes. From the time the fire started it took about 20 minutes before they where able to get water on the fire. Sunday before we left my wife and I took a cruz down on the cart, they had two pontoons sitting up on shore completely burned out.

ROZ
07-15-2002, 03:42 PM
Originally posted by Rubths:
I wasnt at the docs when it happend but was able to get over there preaty quick when I saw the black smoke, when I got there only one pontoon boat was on fire but quickly spread to the others in minutes. From the time the fire started it took about 20 minutes before they where able to get water on the fire. Sunday before we left my wife and I took a cruz down on the cart, they had two pontoons sitting up on shore completely burned out.
So I guess this means you got the boat running?

froggystyle
07-15-2002, 09:39 PM
I heard a rumour that there was a 21XS Lightning next to it that went up. Do you remember seeing a Lightning, and if so what color was it?

Chestah Cheetah
07-15-2002, 09:44 PM
Even though this tragic event was said to have been caused by a collision, Beautiful Noize's story brings up a good subject: Fueling. Besides popping the hatch, being careful not to spill anything, and running the blower, does anyone use any other techniques or have any tips?

squirt
07-15-2002, 10:50 PM
Originally posted by Chestah Cheetah:
Even though this tragic event was said to have been caused by a collision, Beautiful Noize's story brings up a good subject: Fueling. Besides popping the hatch, being careful not to spill anything, and running the blower, does anyone use any other techniques or have any tips?
Chestha,
I always, and I mean always do all the above then I stick my nose in the hole! Ya know it gotta pass the smell test! http://free.***boat.net/ubb/biggrin.gif

Chestah Cheetah
07-15-2002, 11:13 PM
Originally posted by squirt:
Chestha,
I always, and I mean always do all the above then I stick my nose in the hole! Ya know it gotta pass the smell test! http://free.***boat.net/ubb/biggrin.gif
We still talking about boating?

squirt
07-15-2002, 11:21 PM
Originally posted by Chestah Cheetah:
We still talking about boating?
sure we are...... If it smells like gas your not going boating. But if it smells like bait you might as well go boating! http://free.***boat.net/ubb/tongue.gif

maxbowride
07-16-2002, 03:44 AM
Originally posted by squirt:
sure we are...... If it smells like gas your not going boating. But if it smells like bait you might as well go boating! http://free.***boat.net/ubb/tongue.gif
http://free.***boat.net/ubb/biggrin.gif :P http://free.***boat.net/ubb/biggrin.gif
Apparently now we also need to be watching the other side of the dock as well, not just for the T&A, but for the bone head filling his bilge with gas (maybe) http://free.***boat.net/ubb/eek.gif
[This message has been edited by maxbowride (edited July 16, 2002).]

fat rat
07-16-2002, 05:06 AM
Originally posted by Chestah Cheetah:
Even though this tragic event was said to have been caused by a collision, Beautiful Noize's story brings up a good subject: Fueling. Besides popping the hatch, being careful not to spill anything, and running the blower, does anyone use any other techniques or have any tips?
I always pressure check the fuel system before an outing and take a wrench to all fittings, to insure they are tight. Fire is my biggest fear......I always tell my passengers if we have a fire grab a vest and bail out.......don't worry about the boat.

rrrr
07-16-2002, 06:00 AM
I was at a gas dock two years ago and a guy across the dock from me was fueling his houseboat. It wouldn't start so the marina guy got one of those jumper packs and crawled into the engine space to jump it. The fuel tank vent line had come loose from the tank, and I guess the guy had no sense of smell.
The explosion blew him clear out of the boat and onto the dock. My wife and another couple were standing on the dock next to our boat with two small kids. I yelled at them to run off the dock to land, started the boat and got out of there.
Fortunately there was one of those big wheeled dry chem extinguishers there so the fire was quickly put out. Since that incident when I am at the gas dock I always watch other people very closely to see if they are fueling safely.
The same assholes that don't know how to drive their boat probably don't have a clue on how to fill it up, and I don't want to be around them if they get it wrong.

HavasuDreamin'
07-16-2002, 06:16 AM
Originally posted by Chestah Cheetah:
does anyone use any other techniques or have any tips?
Yeah, don't fill up at the gas dock. You are more likely to spill with the motion of the water. I always fill up on the trailer which is a more stable environment. Plus, by the time you get to the ramp, a lot of the fumes are gone.

Rubths
07-16-2002, 08:20 AM
Nope still no motor in the boat, I just picked a new set of Merlin heads last week and the motor should be ready to go in this weekend if everything goes right.
I went out there to do some work on a friend lake house, She has a killer 4 boat doc in martinez next to the launch and lets us leave our boat there in exchange for some manual labor. This weekend almost killed me with the heat, we where cutting down trees on the back side of the house where there was no breeze and 106 temps.

SD MIKEY
07-23-2002, 11:17 PM
Just heard today that the male passed away on saturday:( Female is still in IC and the other male is home.

Lake Lifeguard
07-24-2002, 01:15 AM
Fueling a boat is dangerous as you all know. For those of you with enclosed engine compartments, Get a fuel vapor sensor in your bilges and religiously run your blowers to vent any gas vapors out. And I know its so uncool to use a backfire flame control device on your carbs but use them anyway. Boat fires are unforgiving, expensive, explosive and deadly.

zahndok
07-24-2002, 08:12 AM
Anybody know what kind of pontoon boats were involved? There is a June 2001 USCG recall alert for a fuel related problem for the below affected boats.
LWN Lowe Aluminum Boats Suncruiser pontoon boats 2000 & 2001 Fuel tank Open Plastic 24- and 35-gal. fuel tanks made by Rotational Products (d/b/a Fikes Plastics) are defective. The tank manufacturer, which is now bankrupt, says the tanks degrade on exposure to fuel. The side seams can crack, allowing fuel to leak into the pontoons, creating the possibility of fire or explosion. Defective tanks bear serial numbers between 001431 and 003129.

rrrr
07-24-2002, 08:37 AM
This was in the Yuma paper...
Yuma Sun article (http://www.yumasun.com/artman/publish/story_898.shtml)