P.E.I. lobster boat catches fire offshore; no one injured

More than 15 fishing boats go to aid of lobster fisherman whose boat caught fire 3 km offshore

Image | Fishing boat fire

Caption: Fishermen help tow The Lady Jenalee back to North Lake Harbour after it caught fire early Saturday morning. Nobody was injured. (Submitted by Jeff MacNeill)

About 15-20 fishing boats rushed to the aid of a fellow lobster fisherman when his boat caught on fire Saturday morning about three kilometres off the northeast coast of P.E.I.
Joey Hennessey had just left North Lake Harbour on his boat The Lady Jenalee when a fire started in the motor and worked its way to the back of the boat, said fellow fisherman Jeff MacNeill, one of the fisherman who came to Hennessey's aid.

Image | Fishing boast fire

Caption: Smoke is seen on the horizon as fisherman rush to the aid of a boast that caught fire off the coast eastern P.E.I. early Saturday morning. (Submitted by Jeff MacNeill)

"There were probably 15 or 20 different vessels that rushed right to him," MacNeill said.
"Guys were jumping aboard with fire extinguishers and guys were working hoses from vessels. They used eight or nine fire extinguishers to extinguish the flames."
No one was injured in the blaze.
The boat was then towed back to the harbour. MacNeill said. He said the damage can be repaired.
"It was extinguished pretty quickly," he said.
MacNeill, who runs a deep-sea fishing charter out of North Lake Harbour, said it's reassuring to know so much help is at hand in those circumstances.

"The fishermen have a code," he said. "We look after each other."

Image | Fishing boat fire

Caption: About 15 to 20 boats came to the rescue of a fellow fisherman after his boat caught fire off North Lake Harbour early Saturday morning. (Submitted by Calvin Fraser)

Image | Fishing boat fire

Caption: Fishermen help extinguish a fire on The Lady Jenalee off North Lake Harbour early Saturday morning. (Submitted by Jeff MacNeill)