Separate boat fires in NJ, NY overnight kill 2 women, send 3 to hospital: officials

Raging fires engulfed boats in New Jersey and Westchester in separate incidents overnight that saw two people dead and three hospitalized, according to officials.

Newark police received a call about two adult females trapped inside a burning boat in an alleyway near 20 Pennsy Place at about 8:45 p.m. Friday, according to Carmen Martin, the public information officer for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. 

The two females – who remain unidentified – were taken to University Hospital, where they were pronounced dead, Martin said. 

An adult male was also taken to Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in stable condition following the blaze, which started on one of two boats that were parked side-by-side on trailers, according to Martin. 

The fire – which erupted less than three miles away from Newark Liberty International Airport – spread to both boats but only one was severely damaged, according to Martin. 

The investigation is ongoing. 

Four hours later, a larger blaze broke out at Imperial Yacht Club, a marina on the Isle of San Souci in New Rochelle. 

As firefighters responded to multiple calls about the flames, thick plumes of smoke riddled the area, according to New Rochelle Fire Commissioner Andy Sandor. 

They called an ambulance for a mother and her school-aged child who had been on board one of the boats, Sandor said. 

Both victims were taken to Jacobi Hospital where their condition is unknown, he said. 

A total of seven boats were destroyed as it took firefighters two hours to get the blaze under control, Sandor said. 

The New Rochelle harbormaster is working with the US Coast Guard and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to address the spillage of fuel and other contaminants into the water, as well as salvage the ruined boats, according to Sandor. 

The cause of the fire is under investigation.