Good Samaritan pulls 6 passengers from burning boat in Huntington Harbour

Six people were rescued from a Huntington Beach boat fire Sunday by a good Samaritan who steered his dinghy up to the craft and pulled the victims to safety, fire officials said.

The Huntington Beach Fire Department was notified of a boat fire at 12:48 p.m. that had broken out in Huntington Harbour, near Peter’s Landing Marina, according to a release issued Sunday. The driver of the dinghy, who reportedly owned a boat near where the incident occurred, transported the victims through the channel to a dock near Warner Fire Station, department spokesman Erick Blaska said Monday.

“He had a dinghy boat and jumped in it right away and went right up to the bow of the boat,” Blaska said. “He was able to get everyone off of that boat and into his dinghy.”

The operator of the dinghy reportedly took the passengers about 1 mile away to reach the fire station, Blaska added. A marine safety captain from the department, on scene at a nearby dock, began receiving the passengers and treating them.

Of the six who had been on board, four were taken to area hospitals for further treatment, the release indicated. One passenger signed out against medical advice, while another refused medical care altogether. Blaska said Monday the injuries of the passengers ranged from mild to severe.

An Orange County Sheriff’s Department Harbor Patrol boat towed the damaged craft to nearby Sunset Aquatic Park, where fire investigators had planned to look over the vessel. Blaska did not have information on the make and model of the boat but described the craft as a cabin cruiser model about 30 to 35 feet in length.

Fire officials said the cause of the fire was still unknown but was being investigated by the Huntington Beach Fire Department and the Orange County Fire Authority. It was still unclear how extensive the fire was or how much damaged was sustained during the incident.

Information on the identity of the good Samaritan was not immediately available Monday, but Blaska commended the man on his response.

“He put himself in harm’s way and went above and beyond to help someone else out,” he said. “He’s the hero of this whole thing.”

Fire department officials said children under age 13 must wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket while on any moving recreational vessel and that such craft carry one wearable life jacket for each passenger on board.

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