A man and a child made it safely off a boat that caught fire and burned up on Long Lake this afternoon.
Nanaimo Fire Rescue was called out at 4 p.m. to the lake in the middle of the city, after a report of a boat on fire.
Crews on scene said the man and the girl were boating on the opposite side of the lake from the boat ramp when their vessel caught fire. They abandoned ship and were quickly rescued by other boaters as the lake and Loudon Park were busy on a hot Father’s Day.
Crews said a jet skier was able to tow the speedboat across the lake to the boat ramp, where jet skiers manoeuvring in circles sprayed water to try to put out the fire. Their efforts almost worked, said firefighters; however, the fire eventually engulfed the boat and it burned up.
No one was hurt in the incident and the B.C. Ministry of Environment was notified.
Firefighters gave the girl who had been on the boat a plush toy – a dalmatian wearing a fire hat.
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