Charter boat catches fire 12 miles offshore in Orange Beach

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. (WKRG) — A charter boat named “Cool Change” caught on fire Tuesday morning, 12 miles south of the Perdido Pass in Orange Beach.

The charter boat had excessive smoke spewing from all the windows. A situation captains do not want to happen being miles offshore.

A bystander happened to be listening in and heard the call over a marine channel on the radio and called the Orange Beach Fire Department.

“There was moderate smoke showing from the stern of the vessel to the port side, so they commenced a firefighting operation from the fire boat, got the fire contained, they boarded the vessel, opened it up, found a few hotspots here and there, got them out and then a private vessel towed the vessel in,” Orange Beach Fire Department Deputy Chief Jeff Smith said.

Chief Smith said the station received the call and the OBFD’s Marine Division jumped in the boat and were on the scene in 20 minutes.

There were seven passengers on board plus the captain, they were safely picked up by other charter boats that were around and no one was injured.

We reached out to the captain and he declined to comment but explained that it was a stressful situation. The captain also said that when making the call to get help, his seven customers on board all were wearing life jackets he also mentioned that he was running out of battery on the radio and is grateful the bystander heard his call.

Chief Smith also explained that boaters and fishermen should have all the necessary safety equipment before heading offshore.

“Life safety equipment is number one, life jackets, make sure, especially on a charter boat, I know the instructors around here do a good job instructing customers where the safety equipment is, making sure engines are clean, so there is no fuel built up or oil built up in the engines, and just proper maintenance,” Chief Smith said.

The cause of the fire is unknown and is still under investigation.