1 injured when boats catch fire at marina near Kemah Boardwalk

KEMAH, Texas – A man was injured Thursday afternoon when a boat caught fire in Kemah, according to authorities.

The man, who we're told is in his 70s, was on the boat at a marina near the Kemah Boardwalk when the fire started. Flames then spread to at least one more boat.

"The boat was already heavily involved so we were kind of behind the clock on putting both of the boats out," said Chief Brent Hahn with the Kemah Fire Department. "We have our vehicles set up so that we can extend hose down to the very end of the marina. We are very lucky that this did get put out quickly. The makeup of the boats with radiant heat makes it very difficult at times to contain it to just one boat."

The injured person was transported to the hospital with burns. The person's condition was not known.

"He did walk down to the end of the pier to receive medical attention. So he and his dog did get off the boat," Hahn said.

His dog, Chico, was said to be OK.

The Kemah Fire Department responded to the scene, and a fire boat was used to help extinguish the flames. 

Two boats were destroyed and a third was damaged by the heat.

Mark Kane, Divisional Vice President, Landry's Amusement Division, issued a statement which read, "We do not know what caused or started the boat fire, and are obviously thankful that no one was seriously injured as a result of this incident. The Kemah Fire Department has commenced an investigation, and we believe they will let everyone know what happened as soon as they sort out all of the facts. The Kemah Boardwalk was not impacted at all and is open for business as usual."

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