Boat Fire in Long Beach Kills Two Women and Injures Three

By: Annabelle Ma

On Saturday, two people were killed and three were injured in a boat fire in the Alamitos Bay, according to the Long Beach Fire Department. Two elderly women died while three others, also in their 60s, were hospitalized from this tragic event, Long Beach Fire Captain Jake Heflin said.

At 5:17 p.m., local firefighters responded to a call and brought safety rescue boats to help. Eyewitnesses told workers that the reason that this fire occurred was because the boat was fueling at that time. But the exact cause of the fire is still undetermined, Heflin said.

According to Heflin, firefighters were able to extinguish most of the fire, but they still called county firefighting support to ensure that the blaze didn’t worsen.

The fire caused an enormous cloud of black smoke that spread for miles as firefighters were still battling the flames.

Daniel Quinn, a host at a nearby restaurant, said that he heard a loud noise, “like someone landed on the roof.”

“There was a big bang and I looked up, and there was this ginormous plume of black smoke,” he said.

Heflin said that there were booms placed around the boat to prevent oil and fuel leaks. While the workers were moving the boat to an isolation dock, the boat became partially submerged.

Thankfully, no firefighters were injured from this intense fire, but they will be offered mental health services if they need to process any of the trauma they faced.