Fire put out on fishing vessel off southwestern Nova Scotia

The crew of a fishing vessel that was 24 kilometres south of Cape Sable got a bit of surprise when a fire broke out on board their boat Thursday, Nov. 6, but they were able to put out the fire.

Commanding officer Jim Newell, with the Coast Guard Clark’s Harbour-West Head station, said the fire broke out when the crew started the generator onboard. It was unclear whether it was an electrical or mechanical problem.

“They were trying to start their generator and a ball of fire came,” he said. “They’re not sure if it came from the wiring going to the generator, or the generator itself.”

Newell said when the smoke started to die down the two-person crew was able to out out the fire, which by then had almost extinguished itself.

The vessel, the Gray Spark out of Tignish, P.E.I., was towed to West Head. A fisherman on board the boat called it a minor electrical fire and said the situation was never as serious as Coast Guard or rescue officials had indicated.

Newell said there was very little structural damage, although there was electrical damage.

“But everything is covered in soot so it’s difficult to tell,” he said.

At around 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 6, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre received a mayday call from the 40-foot fishing vessel Gray Spark, which was sailing off southwestern Nova Scotia.

Commander Mike Considine, a spokesperson for the Joint Rescue Coordinator Centre, says the Coast Guard vessels Clarks Harbour and Sir William Alexander were dispatched, as was a Cormorant helicopter and a Hercules aircraft based out of 14 Wing in Greenwood.

“Under the circumstance everything seems to be okay,” said Commander Considine. “Neither of (the crew) were injured, the boat was still afloat.”