A Round Pond lobsterman was rescued from the sea Thursday morning after his boat caught fire as he hauled traps off Haddock Island.
Gary Clifford, also a Bristol volunteer firefighter, said he tried to put out the fire with two fire extinguishers, but it got away from him.
“I called 911, gave them my location, put on my lifejacket and took a swim,” he said.
Clifford was rescued by another fisherman, Peter Poland, in his boat Alexander, after spending about 20-30 minutes in the water.
“I am glad the water was warm,” he said.
Clifford, who was not injured except for a bump on the head, said he was hauling out his traps in anticipation of heavy weather this weekend.
“I was hauling when the motor alarm went off, I opened the hatch and the engine compartment was a blaze. There was not much I could do,” he said.
Bristol Fire Chief Ron Pendleton said the most likely cause of the blaze was a ruptured hydraulic line that sprayed fluid on the exhaust manifold.
“Hydraulic fluid is more flammable than diesel fuel,” he said.
Firefighers and fishermen towed Destini into shore at Round Pond. She was severely damaged, but still afloat when pulled out of the water.
On shore after his morning dip, Clifford praised his fellow firefighters for putting out the fire on his boat.
Ironically, Clifford and his boat Destini won his class in last weekend’s Merritt Brackett Lobster Boat Races held as part of Olde Bristol Days.
