Boat fire at North Haven, Shelter Island responds

The Shelter Island Fire Department (SIFD) was set to respond the afternoon of May 29 to reports of a fire on a private boat near the North Haven ferry slip.

South Ferry President Cliff Clark told the Reporter that a boat was ready for two SIFD trucks and volunteers to cross the channel to aid in the emergency.

Mr. Clark said that by the time they were ready to disembark, word came that the fire had been put out by other local marine units, and the boat that was on fire, which he described as small, had sunk.

According to 27 East, there was one person aboard, a woman who was rescued without injuries.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

SIFD Chief Anthony Reiter said the department’s fire boat, along with the Shelter Island Police Department’s marine unit and several other agencies, including the Coast Guard, responded to the emergency.

With two trucks on the South Ferry Boat, ready to cross the channel to assist, the chief and Mr. Clark said they used the opportunity, even after the emergency had passed, as a training drill for SIFD volunteers and South Ferry crews.

Chief Reiter praised all involved. “When a community comes together to help keep people safe, good things happen, and we saw that today,” he said.