March 21, 2014 - Marina Fire Investigation

Click here for my other entry containing the fire pictures

This morning I got over to the yard where the boats were taken after the fire.  They have all been lined up, just as they were in the marina.  In fact, a few of the damaged finger piers were cut out of the marina and placed between the boats, almost exactly recreating the marina on dry land.

In talking with several people involved with this process, the investigation is now complete.  The findings won't be released for a little while, apparently.  I am assuming (you know what they say about making assumptions!) that if the investigation is complete, that maybe they have figured out the cause?  We won't know that information though until the official determination has been released to the public.  I certainly have not heard anything official, just lots of speculation and rumors from fellow boat-owners and residents.

The way the investigation was conducted was that they started with the boat furthest from the center of the fire.  They investigated that boat, and the dock it was tied to.  All of the investigators (from all of the insurance companies involved) then had to vote YES or NO to the question "did this boat start the fire?"  If the unanimous answer was NO, then they moved to the next closest boat.  They repeated this process until they had no more boats to look at....  It seems like a daunting task to sort through the charred mess to find the source of the fire.

Click on any picture for a larger image:

The investigation scene in Anacortes.

Burned boats lined up on land just as they were in the marina.
The bright orange numbers painted on the boats are their marina slip number.

Look at the two motors.  You can clearly see where the galley was.  That tall
thing is the refrigerator.  The other "pile" is a trash compactor, a microwave
oven, and a cooktop/oven.  You can also see the two large fuel tanks.  Notice
the mattress springs in the rear; that's where the master stateroom was.

Even the remains of the docks were brought to the investigation scene.

Two boats from the south side of the dock.

Complete devastation!

Look at what the heat has done to this transom.  It's almost as if it melted.

The side area where they would bring items from the wreckage for further
investigation.  I guess the investigators have taken most of the items with them.

This finger pier was further away from the source of the fire.

What an aweful sight......

Back on J-dock the investigation is also complete.  The investigators have
taken every power poles electrical box.  These boxes are where the boats
plug into shorepower when tied to the dock.

Click here for my other entry containing the fire pictures