Another narrowboat fire

Published: Friday, 27 November 2009

There has been another narrowboat fire, this time on the Kennet & Avon Canal at Hilperton.

What was terrifying for its owner, Rod Heavens  upon seeing  his burning boat Eliza Louise in flames was that he believed his girl friend was still on board, and so smashed a window to get in, which created a backdraught  causing the boat to explode into flames. Luckily she was not on the boat.  But their dog had died in the fire.

Well alight

He described how he had only left for around 20 minutes to pick up his son when he returned to the moorings to find the boat well alight.

Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service attended the fire with crews from Trowbridge and Bradford on Avon, supported by a control unit from Devizes, water rescue specialists from Trowbridge and Chippenham, a Land Rover pump from Westbury and a lighting unit from Salisbury.

The cause of the fire is still unknown but it has been established there was no smoke alarm on board. It had a solid fuel stove.

The three have lost everything they had in the fire, and they did not have insurance.

The fire service offers free boat safety checks, giving help on identifying potential problems. To request a check, call 0800 389 7849.