Fishing boat destroyed by fire at Nine Mile Creek

A fishing boat was destroyed and a wharf damaged by fire at a harbour southwest of Charlottetown Saturday night.

North River Fire Department Chief Kirby Wakelin said the fire was spotted by someone driving by the wharf at Nine Mile Creek at about 9 p.m.

"It was going a good blaze when we got on scene," said Wakelin.

The boat, which had been tied up at the wharf, was 70 or 90 metres out into the harbour, stuck on a sandbar. No one was on board.

"We didn't touch the boat because it was quite a ways from the dock," said Wakelin.

"The wind was very, very strong. You had to watch your balance when you were standing on the dock."

With the fire on the boat not considered a threat to other property, the firefighters turned their attention to the wharf, which was burning on the side where the boat had been tied up. It was tricky to get water over the side of the dock, said Wakelin, but they managed to get the fire out.

There was quite a bit of damage to the wharf, he said, and the boat was completely destroyed.

Wakelin said it was fortunate the boat was not tied up close to others in the harbour, because 12 to 14 boats could have been lost.

RCMP say the fire was caused by a problem with a block heater.