SCOTTSBORO, Ala — The probable cause of the fire aboard the Dixie Delight and subsequent fire at Dock B was a fire of unknown source, originating aboard the Dixie Delight in the vicinity of the vessel’s electrical panel. Contributing to the severity of the fire and loss of life w ere the County and marina’s limited fire safety practices."
This is the conclusion of the NTSB after their investigation of a fatal fire at the Jackson County Park Marina, Dock B.
Just after midnight on January 27, a fire broke out on the houseboat Dixie Delight. Despite efforts by the owner and a neighbor to put out the fire, which likely started in the bulkhead between the vessel’s electrical panel and storage closet, the fire spread to neighboring boats and the dock. Police were on the scene within 10 minutes of the start of the fire with the fire department just behind them. When the sheriff's office arrived, they attempted to find a boat to use for rescue but were unsuccessful.
People on the dock tried to fight the fire but were quickly pushed back by the flames. One said, “The fire was so hot, so massive that I knew the fire extinguisher wouldn’t do a thing.
People tried various ways to escape and some attempted to cut loose burning boats to slow the spread of the fire. 16 remaining people untied two boats located toward the outer end of the dock. 12 boarded a cabin cruiser-style boat and pushed it away from the dock. Four boarded a similar unoccupied vessel and also pushed it away. The evacuees were unable to get either boat’s engine running to navigate away from the fire. Boats drifted away from the dock when their mooring lines burned through, contributing to a fatal chain of events.
One of the two boats with evacuees was struck by a burning, drifting boat. The four people on the boat jumped into the water. One person from the other boat, a cabin cruiser carrying 12 people, jumped into the water and "attempted to fend off the burning vessels as they approached" while the remaining 11 people went in to the boat's cabin. Another burning boat ran into the cabin cruiser. According the the NTSB report, one survivor said it “immediately” caught the cabin cruiser on fire. Four of the people on the vessel escaped into the water. The remaining seven people - five children, their mother, and another woman - were trapped and died in the flames.
The NTSB said that, "Of the total nine occupants who abandoned the two vessels, none wore life jackets. One individual drowned, and the eight others either swam to shore or were assisted to shore by the Jackson County Rescue Squad, who had responded to the fire. First responders treated the survivors for exposure and burns on scene, and seven survivors with more serious injuries were transported to a local hospital for treatment." Several said that that although personal flotation devices (PFDs) were available aboard their own vessels, they did not think to take them before evacuating.
Park management told investigators that there were no marina-provided PFDs or life rings located on Dock B.
According the the NTSB's report, Alabama's current state fire code includes rules for marinas and boatyards that annual electrical inspections, marina employee fire response training, biannual fire drills, and the designation of a fire department liaison responsible for submitting a “pre-fire plan” to the local fire department and the authority responsible for enforcing the code. Because Dock B was built in 2003, before these safety standards were adopted, it was not required to have these safety measures.
The Jackson County Park and Marina had inspections in 2012 and 2016, but were not required and were done as a courtesy by the local fire department.
At the time of the fire, Alabama’s fire codes for covered docks and marinas were not applicable to Dock B, which had been constructed prior to their adoption. The NTSB says that, "Nonetheless, marinas should have measures and guidelines in place to prevent and mitigate accidents for all moored boats and their occupants. The Jackson County Park Marina did not observe several existing safety best practices and guidelines created for and used by the marina industry. Safety practices such as annual electrical inspections, employee fire training, biannual fire drills, and the development of a pre-fire plan with the fire department can better prepare marina staff and boat owners for a vessel or dock fire. In addition, a safety skiff, as recommended by guidelines, can be used by marina staff or first responders to assist in an emergency.
Contributing to the "fire load" on the dock were items belonging to boaters. The report says that much of the dock space at each slip and external deck space aboard the vessels housed plastic chair and table sets, rugs, propane grills, and other potentially combustible material. A number of the vessels had inoperable or laid-up engines, and many of the boats had been tied to the dock for long periods of time.
