Another Kennet & Avon boat fire

JUST two weeks after a narrowboat fire on the Kennet & Avon Canal, another boat has been burnt out, but this time the occupants escaped the blaze.

It was yesterday, Saturday (6th June) that fire crews were called to a blazing boat at Bath in the early hours of the morning to discover it well alight, Alan Tilbury reports.

Unlike the tragic narrowboat fire at Pewsey two weeks ago, where a woman died, the occupants, a man, woman and young child managed to escape the flames.

The fire crews from the Avon Fire and Rescue Service arrived at the scene around 6am in the morning, to discover the narrowboat was well alight, and were alerted that there were two gas bottles on board, with the crews promptly protecting the cylinders with foam whilst dousing the flames.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.

The boat was moored on the canal at Bathampton with other boats, and the fire crews took the opportunity to speak to the other boaters passing on safety advice.

It was exactly two weeks ago that the fatal boat fire at Pewsey on the Kennet & Avon occurred, pictured, and then followed a Boat Fire Safety Week, with the Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service, supported by the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust, emphasising the dangers of fire safety in boats.

Both the fire service and the Boat Safety Scheme emphasise the dangers of fire in narrowboats and the necessity to take precautions, particularly with the use of solid fuel stoves, the cause of so many fires, and the fitting of alarms.