Four-alarm fire hits New England Boatworks
PORTSMOUTH, R.I. — A four-alarm blaze Thursday at New England Boatworks sent eight firefighters to the hospital for possible exposure to hydrogen cyanide and damaged at least three Quonset huts, according to a report in the Boston Globe. The firefighters have since been released after they showed no complications.
The damaged huts contained only equipment and tools, and no boats in the marina were damaged, Andrew Casell, son of a co-owner, told the paper.
The New England Boatworks grounds includes at least nine other huts, according to the report, which house a diesel business, a restaurant and other New England Boatworks property, but they were not affected.
Firefighters were investigating the cause of the blaze and company officials will not know the extent of the damage until they inspect the property, the Globe reports.
Another article in the Providence Journal reports that the timing for the fire could not have been worse, given the critical nature of the spring season and the current economy.
“In a normal economic situation, it would have an effect,” Eric Goetz of Goetz Custom Technologies told the Journal. “In this economy, when everybody is really kicked in the teeth, it could be even worse for the suppliers, especially the small guys.”
To read the journal’s full report, click here.
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