The blaze in the Geminga Boat Yard on Saturday night. Photo courtesy the Collectivité.
MARIGOT--St. Martin firefighters (pompiers) intervened Saturday night to extinguish a fire that broke out in a 200-square-metre shed in the Geminga boatyard in Sandy Ground.
Burnt out containers in the boatyard. Photo courtesy the Collectivité.
According to a joint State/Collectivité press release, the shed was completely destroyed and a nearby boat damaged. Hydrocarbon reserves were protected by firefighters to prevent the risk of explosion.
Damaged oil drums stored in the shed burnt by the fire resulted in an oil spill into Simpson Bay Lagoon. Precautions have been taken to contain this pollution and prevent it from spreading. A procedure for assessment of this pollution has been initiated to assess the severity level and to implement proportionate measures, if necessary.
The blaze was contained at 5:00am Sunday, but firefighters remained on site to monitor dying embers.
Préfet Vincent Berton arrived at the scene of the fire Sunday morning. He assured the boatyard owner that the State would closely monitor the impact of the disaster on his company’s activity and study potential support measures.
Collectivité President Louis Mussington and Préfet Berton praised the quick response and commitment of the firefighters who fought much of the night against this large-scale fire and prevented it from spreading to the rest of the boatyard.
