Man rescued after jumping into water when his boat catches fire in Jones Inlet near Point Lookout
Town of Hempstead Bay Constables rescued a man in Jones Inlet near Point Lookout after his boat caught fire on Saturday afternoon. Credit: James Staubitser
A man was rescued Saturday afternoon after he jumped into Jones Inlet near Point Lookout as his boat was engulfed in flames, authorities said.
“It burned down to the water line and sank,” said Coast Guard Petty Officer and spokesman Ryan Schultz. “The person was pulled out of the water by the Hempstead Bay Constable.”
The man, who is 51, had a minor laceration, said Nassau Police Officer Michael Usinger.
“We got out to him, took him to shore and offered him medical attention, which he refused,” said Usinger, adding that the Nassau Police Department’s marine bureau also was involved in the rescue.
The man had “notified authorities that he was in distress” and reported that “he heard a loud bang, then his boat went on fire,” a police news release said.
The 50-foot-long Bertram fishing boat caught fire around 2:25 p.m., police said.
The boat had been about half a mile south of Point Lookout, in the mouth of Jones Inlet, said Lt. Cory Murallo, a Coast Guard spokesman.
The man was taken to West Marina at Point Lookout, Usinger said. Schultz said the man was the owner and sole operator of the boat.
The Coast Guard’s marine safety detachment, based in Coram, is monitoring the water for any potential contamination, Murallo said.
The Wantagh, Long Beach and Freeport fire departments also responded to the fire, as did Nassau police and Coast Guard helicopters, and the Hempstead Police Department and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Nassau police and Coast Guard officials said.
David Olson covers health care. He has worked at Newsday since 2015 and previously covered immigration, multicultural issues and religion at The Press-Enterprise in Southern California.
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