Captain and his dog escape boat fire southwest of Ottawa
The captain of a boat safely made it back to shore after his vessel caught fire and sank in the middle of a lake southwest of Ottawa this weekend.
The 60-year-old man was out for a leisurely boat ride with his dog on Saturday when the 30-foot vessel caught fire in the Rideau Ferry area.
"We saw the smoke from the boat launch at the yacht club and just decided to check it out," said Mason Cassell, describing the fire in the middle of the Rideau Lake.
Cassell said he headed out to try to help, but it wasn't safe to approach the burning vessel.
"Pretty scary and we stayed pretty far back because we didn't want to get caught in an explosion of the gas tanks," Cassell said.
Kayla Gilfillen said they saw "lots of black heavy, heavy smoke" in the middle of the lake.
Ontario Provincial Police say the captain and his dog were able to abandon ship and make it back to shore safely.
"He did make efforts to extinguish the fire once he was alerted due to the fire alarm on board," OPP Acting Sgt. Erin Cranton said Sunday. "There was another boat nearby that offered aid in the way of a fire extinguisher to try to put the fire out prior to the fire crew arriving."
The man suffered minor burns in the fire. Cranton said his dog is in good condition.
Zachary Reynolds-Middleton says a bunch of boats crowded around the burning vessel, trying to help.
"We saw them arriving as the boat was sinking."
Charred debris from the boat was washing up on the shore on Sunday, and police say the sunken boat will be recovered from the lake. The Ministry of Environment has been notified of the incident.
"A large amount of that fuel did burn off from the fire," Cranton said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but the OPP says there is nothing to indicate the fire is suspicious.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
NEW Iconic Canadian song turns 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Prince Harry, Meghan arrive in Nigeria to champion the Invictus Games and meet with wounded soldiers
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, arrived in Nigeria on Friday to champion the Invictus Games, which he founded to aid the rehabilitation of wounded and sick servicemembers and veterans, among them Nigerian soldiers fighting a 14-year war against Islamic extremists.
Countries struggle to draft 'pandemic treaty' to avoid mistakes made during COVID
After the coronavirus pandemic triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions, leaders at the World Health Organization and worldwide vowed to do better in the future. Years later, countries are still struggling to come up with an agreed-upon plan for how the world might respond to the next global outbreak.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Storm-battered U.S. South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.