(WXYZ) — No one was injured Tuesday evening after a massive boat fire in St. Clair Shores.
Witnesses said they heard an explosion before seeing the plume of smoke and flames at Ken's Gas Dock off of Jefferson Road, near Mike's On The Water.
“It was louder than any firework blast that I’ve heard," witness Joseph Beckton said. "And we ran down there saw a boat on fire. Then there were a few more smaller explosions as different boats caught on fire.”
Beckton described feeling the heat coming off the boats and seeing the plume of smoke filling the sky.
Saint Clair Shores fire officials said two men were seen jumping off the initial boat that caught fire.
We’re told they swam to safety.
Two more boats caught fire as the fire department and Macomb County Sheriff's department put out the flames.
Because of the location and wind, it took about 45 minutes to put the fire out.
“We turned the lake into kind of a fire hydrant for ourselves and between our hoses on the land and help from the Macomb County Sherrif’s Department with their boat that has a fire nozzle on it, we were able to get both of the fires put out last night," Saint Clair Shores Fire Chief James Piper said.
In total, three boats caught fire.
“The boat drifted across and leaned up against the other boat that you saw in the video," said Beckton.
Officials are investigating what exactly started the fire and now they are looking for the two men who were on the initial boat.
“We were not able to make contact with them," Piper said. "They did not make themselves available to us or the police and we would love to talk to them to get a little information on maybe what happened.”
The dock's owner said two boats sank to the bottom of the canal.
The U.S. Coast Guard will be heading to the marina to check for possible pollution in the water.
