Boat Exploded near Ocean Isle, NC

[LunaBuna]

A boat exploded near Ocean Isle Beach in NC Friday because, while attempting to fuel up the boat, the owners accidentally put 28 gallons of gas into a fishing rod holder instead of the gas tank. Thankfully everyone survived, but they are still in a burn center. Prayers!

Three injured in Ocean Isle Beach boat explosion

 

[RayfromTX]

No words. I spent 7 weeks in a burn ward following a gasoline explosion from 6 oz of gasoline 36 years ago.

 

[Bubblesong]

I will say Prayers for the injured! I have heard that the same hyperbaric chambers that save Decompression Sickness patients can be used to assist burn victims in their healing. Does anyone know more about this kind of treatment that could help these guys?

 

[Patoux01]

I don't spend much time on boats, but how does one not notice you put 28 gallons of gas in the wrong spot?

 

[herman]

Very easily.
Many boats have the fill port along the gunwale (side top edge of the boat) and often times there are rod holder (basically holes in the gunwale) located very close to the gas fill port and often are the same basic shape, esp when viewed from above eye level. They are open to the boat bilge. On a large boat that has the gunwale above your head, it is easy to get the wrong one. I witnessed the exact same thing happen, the owner has pumped a good bit of gas into his boat in the manner described above...he realized it when the bulge pumps came on and started pumping gas into the parking lot. Luckily for all of us, it did not ignite.

 

[rhwestfall]

Happens more than you care to know...

 

[GreggS]

Just saw this on the news this morning. Our local station pretty much the same thing in their report as is in the OP's link.

My wife and I have some friends that have a house in Ocean Isle and we were just down there with them Memorial Day weekend so I know just where this took place. I have been to that place with my friend to fuel his boat many times. And while I can see how someone not familiar with the boat could make this mistake, I find it difficult to see how the owner of the boat could mistake a rod holder for the fuel intake unless he had just gotten the boat and this was his first time fueling it OR he was somewhat intoxicated. And while there could be exceptions, especially on larger boats, every one I've seen has a cap (usually threaded so it has to be unscrewed) on the fuel intake that has to be removed in order to fuel, especially on ones the size of this one which looked to be no more than 16-20 feet long.

That being said, I don't know what caused then to do this or why. Just hope they recover well. Boats can be replaced, lives can't.

 

[Joneill]

Happens more than you care to know...

Agreed - having owned boats for many years, it's carelessness and easily avoided - but folks can get distracted and it could have been someone "helping". As is said, "sh_t happens" and, in this case, it did.

However, it's tragic and I hope the injuries are not severe and all involved recover quickly without any major, lasting issues.

 

[kelemvor]

I will say Prayers for the injured! I have heard that the same hyperbaric chambers that save Decompression Sickness patients can be used to assist burn victims in their healing. Does anyone know more about this kind of treatment that could help these guys?

They can. There is also some newer tech in burn treatment involving cultivating skin cells and delivering them to the patient with a sprayer.

Not a doctor, but my daughter was severely burned before she turned 1 so I pay attention to news about burn treatments.

Not all hospitals are created equal. I discovered after two weeks in the burn unit at Tampa General Hospital in Tampa that the burn unit is awful. I didn't really know how bad things were there until we transferred to another hospital and were able to make a comparison. Hopefully these people end up at a hospital that falls into the latter category.

 

[Altamira]

Having owned a boat for 30+ years, and lived on a lake for 24 years, one thing I know about boat owners is that a lot of them are untrained, unknowledgeable, and unskilled operators. These deficiencies, often combined with alcohol, are frequently involved in incidents and accidents. My heart goes out to the burn victims, but also know this accident could/should have be avoided. My 11 year old grandson knows how to put the gas in the boat--it is not that hard.