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Update: Boat fire off Shelter Island

JADE ECKARDT PHOTO Billowing smoke from a boat on fire Saturday afternoon.
JADE ECKARDT PHOTO Billowing smoke from a boat on fire Saturday afternoon.

At about 3 p.m. Saturday, August 25, a boat caught fire in the waters off Crescent Beach, according to a report from the Shelter Island Police Department.

Two people were aboard, the police said. One of the occupants was treated and transported by Shelter Island Emergency Medical Services to Eastern Long Island Hospital and treated there for minor injuries. Police said the two people who were on board are the owners of the boat.

Shelter Island Fire Department (SIFD) Chief Anthony Reiter told the Reporter that the boat — a 25-foot 1985 Sea Ray — was “fully-involved” in a fire when department volunteers arrived at the scene. The Coast Guard and Southold first responders also were at the scene. The SIFD “provided full fire suppression,” Chief Reiter said.

COURTESY PHOTO First responders at the scene.
COURTESY PHOTO First responders at the scene.

Shelter Island Bay Constable Butch Labrozzi was on patrol near Crescent Beach and saw a woman on board jump or fall off the Sea Ray and a “mini-explosion” occurred. He immediately responded to the scene.

After the fire was out, the boat was towed to Albertson Marina in Southold, police said, where it was removed from the water to “contain any environmental impact and to assist with the fire investigation.”

The investigation is being conducted by the SIPD, which said it is “believed to be non-criminal in cause and origin.”