RedactedNarrative: On 15 June 2016 at approximately 130PM, I, Officer First Class, of the Maryland Natural Resources Police, was contacted by Department of Natural Resources Communications regarding a vessel that had received fire damage while docked at Queen Anne’s Marina, Stevensville, MD. The complainant advised the fire damage had occurred between the 11th and 12th of June, and that he had taken the vessel out on Monday (13 June) on a fishing trip. I contacted Subject and advised he should contact the State Fire Marshall as well to help in the investigation.
  
        The vessel is a 2004 2520XL (25’) Parker, bearing Delaware registration 6670AB. There was approximately 4 feet of melted and peeling fiberglass, which had left base fiberglass layer and wood visible. This damaged was observed on the port side of the vessel, midship, and appeared to have originated from below the waterline and extended up the side of the vessel to the fuel vent. There was soot and smoke residue that extended from the fuel vent to the stern of the vessel; this smoke residue was also observed on the side of the vessel (workboat) docked adjacent to Subject’s. The Robin Lynn did not have any heat damage on its hull, nor any damage to the vessel. The captain of the Robin Lynn, reported that he did not observe any damage to Subject’s vessel on Saturday when he returned from crabbing, but did notice it on Monday, and alerted Subject to the damage. Subject reported that he had taken the vessel out on Monday after inspecting the damage, but contacted Natural Resources Police on Wednesday.
  
        Investigator from the State Fire Marshall’s office aided in the investigation, and was able to conclude that the damage from the fire appeared to have been caused from an internal source, which caused the paint, gelcoat, and fiberglass to bubble and peel. It was concluded that there must have been a small fuel leak within the filler neck or fuel vent cap, which was triggered by an open ground or a spark from a normal function, such as the bilge kicking on. Further evidence of this was observed when the two deck hatches that access the fuel tanks were removed, both of which had charred plastic on their below deck portions. There were also open ground wires observed on the top of the fuel tank, which was assumed to be from the fuel sender unit.
  
        The investigation concluded that the fire had been a quick and intense burn, which originated from within the hull of the vessel and climbed the fuel filler hose space within the bulkhead. This was based on any factors, including: that there was no heat damage observed on neighboring vessel, which would have been expected if the heat sources was outside of Subject’s vessel, the fact that the fire source appeared to originate below the waterline of Subject’s vessel (based on heat damage observed), and that there was observed charring within the hull space surrounding the fuel tanks. 
  
        Subject will be pulling his vessel to have it appraised by a marine mechanic, and will be filing with his insurance company, Charter Lakes Insurance. The Office of the State Fire Marshall will be filing a report as well. 
  
  
  ALL OBSERVATIONS ARE BASED ON MY TRAINING, KNOWLEDGE, AND EXPERIENCE. ALL EVENTS OCCURRED IN QUEEN ANNE’S COUNTY, MARYLAND.
  