damaged boat sits in the Jim Clark Marina after a boathouse fire was extinguished by Seattle Fire Department personnel, Dec. 29, 2015. U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Washington Department of Ecology
SEATTLE — Coast Guard, Washington Department of Ecology and Seattle Fire Department personnel are responding to pollution caused by a fire at Jim Clark Marina on the south end of Harbor Island near Seattle, Tuesday night.
Personnel from the Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound Incident Management Division opened the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund and contracted Global Diving and Salvage to remove any fuel aboard sunken or damaged vessels.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound were notified by Seattle 911 dispatchers at about 8:40 p.m., of a boathouse fire involving multiple vessels at the Jim Clark Marina. Seattle Fire Department personnel responded with a fire boat and shore-side fire trucks and reported the fire under control at about 9:05 p.m.
The Coast Guard incident management team was on scene shortly after being notified and began an assessment and reported that four recreational vessels were damaged and two of them sunk. Safety Marine Information Broadcast is being issued to notify boaters of potential hazards in the area. The pollution size is unknown at this time and no boom is being deployed for safety reasons.
“We have responders on scene to monitor the situation and cleanup efforts,” said Capt. Tom Griffitts, deputy commander of Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound. “Our goal is to mitigate any environmental damage through a collaborative effort with our agency partners, cleanup personnel and the facility.”
