Quick-thinking crew tackle fire in marina office

Deckhand Joshua Hageman was working on board the 194-foot (59m) M/Y Imagine while docked at the Marigot Bay Yacht Haven marina on St. Lucia when he saw thick black smoke coming from the marina office. He immediately notified Capt. Nicolas Kswski, and the two of them, along with Bosun James Stevens, grabbed the yacht’s axes and fire extinguishers and went into firefighting mode.

When they reached the marina office, Stevens said, there were other boaters with small hoses on the dock as well, but the door was locked because it was 6:45 p.m. and the office was closed.

“We took our axes and broke through the doors to fight the fire,” Capt. Kswski said. The room was filled with dark heavy smoke and his concern, he said, was that the ceiling might collapse on his crew if they entered the building. Nevertheless, they were successful in containing the fire prior to the fire department arriving on site.

”Our constant training and drills enabled us as a team to move quickly without hesitation,” Stevens said.

The July 25 fire was later determined to have started in the office of a property next door to the marina. 

When asked about any concern he had for the safety of his vessel, Capt. Kswski said they were docked far enough away. Had they not been, he added, he would have immediately notified the engineer to make sure the boat was prepared to depart the dock at a moment’s notice.

Dockmaster Troy Blanchard said, “We really appreciate the efforts of the crew from Imagine. Although we lost our office, the entire marina village could have gone up in flames without their effort. I am forever grateful to having such a professional crew on the dock.”