Dozens of boats destroyed in Seattle marina fire as arson suspect arrested
A massive fire at a boat storage facility at the Seattle marina destroyed dozens of boats and an arson suspect has been arrested.
More than 30 boats were burned as the inferno ripped through the facility and another building in Portage Bay early Wednesday, according to the Seattle Fire Department.
Images showed a structure completely charred and smoke billowing into the air from around the water.
The fire was reported on the 700 block of NE Northlake Way around 2am and about 80 firefighters responded, as well as members of the police department’s harbor patrol unit.
In addition, the US Coast Guard and the Department of Ecology were on scene to assist with deploying buoys to prevent hazardous chemicals in the burning boats from spreading into Portage Bay and Lake Union, wrote the fire department.
The blaze was under control by around 6am, tweeted the fire department.
No injuries were reported.
A 32-year-old man was founding in a boat docked near the fire by members of an arson bomb squad, police said.
The man was arrested and transported to Harborview Medical Center in stable condition. Once cleared from the hospital, the man is expected to be charged with arson and booked into King County Jail, according to cops.
An investigation into the incident continues.
Air quality levels dipped down to moderate to unhealthy for sensitive groups in some parts of the Washington city.
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