Four boats lost in fire at marina in North Fort Myers
The investigation is continuing into a fire at Paradise Marina on Saturday evening that destroyed four boats, possibly killed two pets and left one person with minor injuries.
Tanner Yeatter, director of operations at River Refuge, said he learned about the fire at about 9:30 p.m. The North Fort Myers Fire Dept. and the Red Cross were quick to respond and were able to limit the damage to just four boats, which were a complete loss.
No other boats were affected, said Yeatter, who added they were very lucky things didn’t spread to the entire marina.
“The fire department did an amazing job fighting the fire the way they did. It’s a shame we lost the four boats and it displaced a few families, but it could have been a lot worse,” Yeatter said.
Other than that, details are still very sketchy, Yeatter said. The displaced families were taken to hotels by the Red Cross, and insurance companies are investigating possible environmental damage.
Fire Chief David Rice said they have not yet determined on which boat the fire started. When they do, they will have to pull the boat out of the water before they can get an answer as to how the fire started. He added that the wind Saturday evening may have resulted in the fire spreading to the other boats.
Yeatter said they have established a GoFundMe account for the families affected. To contribute, visit gofundme.com/paradise-marina.
Nearly $2,000 has already been raised in lass then a day, with the goal of raising $75,000.