Boat Catches Fire off Short Beach

The Stratford Fire Department’s Marine Rescue Unit towed a 26-foot sailboat to shore Monday night after the vessel’s battery compartment caught fire rendering the boat disabled off of Short Beach.

The boat’s operator doused the fire with a portable extinguisher prior to firefighters’ arrival, Deputy Fire Chief Jonathan Gottfried said in a statement released Tuesday.

“The fire department Marine Rescue Unit was only able to get within six feet of the sailboat due to the large waves they encountered,” he said. “The operator of the sailboat informed Marine Rescue 1 that none of the passengers were injured, and all were accounted for.”

Gottfried said it was reported that there was one adult and four children on the vessel.

“They were able to throw them a rope and tow the sailboat through choppy waters to the Birdseye Boat Ramp,” he said.