POMPANO BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A docked boat outside a Pompano Beach home caught fire Wednesday afternoon, injuring a 60-year-old man.
Pompano Beach Fire Rescue is currently on the scene trying to put out hot spots on the 30-foot boat with foam.
According to officials, the 60-year-old was on board the boat doing maintenance when one of the boat’s engines blew up. He was injured with second degree burns to his face, arms and torso and was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s burn unit.
Pompano Beach Police have blocked off streets leading to the area, along Northeast 26th Avenue, just east of the Pompano Beach Airpark.
A good amount of foam has overflowed from the boat into the waterway. The fire did not spread to surrounding homes and has been put out.
The homeowners, according to a source, rent the dock space. The boat is registered out of Naples.
The mechanic is expected to be OK.
“Sometimes it’s a flashover. It’s what happens when there’s an explosion like that where it just goes up, and he’s burned throughout his body,” said Sandra King with Pompano Beach Fire Rescue. “He had burns to his face, chest, torso, legs. There were numerous calls. Again, the smoke was billowing so high. People at Broward Boulevard, all the way north, said that they saw the smoke. Many people in the neighborhood saw the smoke. It was very heavy, all the way from Sample Road down.”
Fire investigators are still on the scene, as of 5 p.m. to determine the cause of the fire.
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