Fairhaven Firefighters Battle Extremely Smoky Fire on Fishing Boat

Fairhaven firefighters battled a smoky blaze onboard a fishing boat today.

Firefighter Wayne Oliveira says the fire was reported late Tuesday morning aboard the 75-foot fishing vessel "Thor" which is docked in the Fairhaven Shipyard for repairs. The fire was contained to the crew quarters below deck.

Oliveira tells WBSM News fighting a fire inside of a boat is already a difficult task. "It's even worse under extremely heavy smoke conditions when you really can't see anything. And there was work being done to the vessel. Some of the floorboards were pulled up. So, it was a pretty dangerous situation just trying to fight a fire in a vessel like that," said Oliveira.

The smoke was so thick, firefighters resorted to using a thermal camera in order to see the flames.

The fire was fully extinguished after several hours. The fire was sparked by welding taking place in the crew quarters, which ignited some nearby insulation. The damage to the vessel is estimated at $10,000.