A moored
Christmas Ship caught fire on the Willamette River just south of the Hawthorne Bridge Thursday night, providing a rescue opportunity for Portland's newest fire boat.
The fire began just before 7 p.m. at the Riverplace Marina on the waterfront, where a busy boardwalk of onlookers and several spectators from yacht parties watched the smoke spread and the flames quickly get out of control.
Portland Fire Boat 17, aka the Eldon Trinity, arrived shortly after with firefighters who boarded the burning 32-foot trawler and put the blaze out in minutes.
The Eldon Trinity was dedicated Dec. 7 in honor of two young children--Trinity Smith, 7, and her 4-year-old brother Eldon Smith--who were thrown from the Sellwood Bridge into the Willamette River by their mother on May 23, 2009.
Eldon Smith did not survive that fall, and the time it took Portland Fire to make a river response prompted the Portland City Council to fund a high speed emergency boat.
Portland Fire said Thursday that there were five people on board who escaped from the front hatch. The owner of the vessel was treated for smoke inhalation and transported to an area hospital.
Several witnesses on the scene said they saw people on board fighting the fire.
"I feel really bad for the people, though--hope they don't live on it," said Deb McGovern, who was watching with her husband from a holiday party on a nearby yacht.
The Eldon Trinity was in service only two hours prior to responding to the fire--its first official emergency response.
"(The Eldon Trinity) was on scene fighting this fire within eight minutes of being dispatched," said Portland Fire Spokesman Paul Corah. "This demonstrates how having a dedicated rescue boat on the Willamette River is already protecting Portland's citizens."
At the emotional boat dedication ceremony Dec. 7, the now 8-year-old Trinity Smith thanked everyone for coming and remembering her brother.
"I'm here to feel my brother's love--my little brother's love," said Trinity Smith at the dedication, "And I'm here to honor him because I miss him so much."
Portland City Commissioner Randy Leonard, who oversees the fire department, also attended the dedication and particularly mentioned how the new boat would help save lives in the future.
"While this heartbreaking and unimaginable situation cannot be undone, the Eldon Trinity stands as a memorial to the life that was lost and provides hope for the lives that will be saved on the Willamette River in the future," said Leonard.
Fire investigators determined that the cause of the Thursday night's fire was a leaking gas line linked to the generator.
With 200 gallons of diesel on board, Corah said the quick response by the Eldon Trinity was key to knocking the fire down before it spread to nearby boats.
In April, Amanda Stott-Smith, 32, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder for throwing her children into the river. She was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 35 years.
--Toshio Suzuki
