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Man suffers burns as boat fire erupts in Vancouver’s False Creek

2 boats damaged but remained afloat after blaze that appears to have been caused by cooking
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Spectators watch as a canoe passes during the Four Fires Festival on Vancouver’s False Creek, on Saturday, July 22, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

Fire has damaged a roughly 10 metre pleasure craft, one of the many small boats that moor long-term in Vancouver’s False Creek.

Vancouver Fire and Rescue asst. chief Ken Gemmill says a man may have been cooking when the fire broke out about 5:30 p.m., Thursday, in the waters off David Lam Park in Yaletown.

The man, and a woman aboard a 12-metre sailboat that was tied to the pleasure boat, had already been taken to a nearby dock by another vessel before two of Vancouver’s fireboats arrived.

The woman was not injured but Gemmill says the man was taken to hospital for treatment of severe burns.

Firefighters quickly doused the flames that damaged the interior of the powerboat and scorched the side of the sailboat.

Both vessels remained afloat and didn’t cause any environmental damage but Gemmill says the blaze may renew interest in the problem of long-term, illegal moorage in False Creek.