Fire erupts on a shrimp boat in Gautier

A 60 foot shrimp boat went up in flames today in Gautier.

“It’s going to be a complete loss unfortunately.” A devastating sight for all at Patilo’s Marina, the owner of a 60 foot shrimp boat was welding the bottom when he heard a loud pop coming from the inside. By the time he came from underneath, he saw the flames. He realized it was too late to handle it on his own so he found Stacy Hutchens, the owner of the marina, and called 911. “He was running up through here and he knew that the smoke had gotten too strong to go down there. He knew he had a problem so we called 911. We thought about going down there with fire extinguishers, but you never know what you’re running into.”

Once units arrived around noon, they went to work. It took hours for Gautier Fire Department to gain control of the flames. One reason for this is because of the way the shrimp boats are constructed. “The inside of these boats, it’s a tough cookie to put a fire out. You got multiple layers, fuel tanks, propane tanks, there’s just so many things. It’s tough.”

Gautier Fire Deputy Chief Derek McCoy said, “They’re not easy to access and more importantly they’re not easy to get out of once you get in them and that’s when the safety of our firefighters comes in.”

There were some 700 gallons of diesel fuel aboard the boat and due to the amount of water that was flushed in, a small amount of the fuel leaked out into the bayou. The Coast Guard was on the scene to handle it. “His boat is his business and his boat is destroyed. We have had a few smoke-ups that was put out two minutes later with a fire extinguisher, but there has never been nothing like that here. Nothing.”

Gautier fire is still working on an official cause of the fire, but the deputy chief says he is proud of the hard work from his men. “They don’t want to give up and the last thing they want to do is sit back and let someone’s property burn. It’s just not in us.”