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Submitted by gerry on Thu, 03/09/2009 - 14:56.
At approximately 01.30 this morning Falmouth Coastguard tasked both lifeboats to go to the aid of a 37 ft Sealine Motor Cruiser reported to be on fire at Turnaware Point in the River Fal. In a matter of minutes the volunteer lifeboat crews were on their way to the incident arriving on scene less than 15 minutes later.The Inshore lifeboat, being the first to arrive, were faced by a raging inferno on the motor cruiser, but lifeboatmen’s first priority was to confirm the safety of anyone involved in the incident. The cruiser was manned by a husband and wife team but they had evacuated to a nearby yacht. Having ascertained that the crew were safe and well, and no other persons were involved, the inshore lifeboat stood off at a safe distance to await the arrival of the all weather lifeboat. The all weather lifeboat met the yacht as they approached the scene and transferred a first aid trained lifeboatman, with oxygen, to check out the casualties. Meanwhile, the inshore lifeboat picked up members of the retained St Mawes Fire Brigade from Turnaware Point and transferred them to the all weather lifeboat to help assess the extent of the fire and to consider how best to contain it. Some minutes later the brigade’s Rigid Inflatable, Transco Pheonix arrived, with more fire fighters and extra equipment to help tackle the blaze. With the firefighters tackling the blaze from the pontoon both lifeboats stood by until the situation had been contained. By 03.20 the cruiser had been towed by the Truro Harbourmaster’s launch to Turnaware bar and beached, allowing the fire brigade better access and to prevent it from sinking. Both lifeboats were then released to return to station where they were washed down, refuelled and made ready for immediate service again at approximately 04.00. Helmsman Dave Nicoll quoted “Despite the loss of the vessel both casualties had managed to scramble to safety and thankfully were not harmed – all the emergency services had worked closely together during the incident” Notes to editors RNLI media contacts RNLI online Key facts about the RNLI
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