NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A boat fire near the James River Bridge stopped traffic on the bridge in both directions Sunday morning.
Newport News Assistant Fire Chief Dave Lewis confirmed a working boat fire near the bridge around 10 a.m. and that traffic was being affected.
U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Ryan Noel said the Coast Guard was alerted to an explosion and fire near the James River Bridge around 9:35 a.m. Photos on social media showed dark black smoke billowing from a boat in the water near the JRB.
The Coast Guard said three fire-rescue boats from Newport News, Suffolk, and Carrollton responded while the Coast Guard maintained a security zone around the boat and emergency response to it. The Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) also responded to assist in extinguishing the fire.
Petty Officer Noel said six people were taken off the boat and brought to shore. Three people reportedly suffered burn injuries, although it is not immediately clear how severe they are.
Amie Wise, who was sitting in her truck at Huntington Beach Park, noticed a big cloud of black smoke rising from the direction of the bridge.
"I mean, it was pretty big. I would say it went a few hundred feet up in the air, and you could see every so often it would kind of get like really, really, really dark black, big clouds of smoke," she said.
Wise said she heard ambulances and fire trucks nearby, and initially thought there was a car fire on the bridge. Eventually, she realized the fire was out on the water and saw boats coming into the boat ramp at the park.
"It looked like they were bringing people back, potentially. And I was just hoping that whoever was out there was nice and safe and everybody got off the boat safely," Wise said.
The boat was a total loss. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
