SYNOPSIS: 
On October 26th, 2023, around 19:00 a fire started on a houseboat named "Totally Hooked".  Fire on Totally Hooked was suppressed for about 15 mins until flames started to become larger. Totally Hooked was cleared from the slip by witnesses and towed by Aramark  to the break wall of the marina. The wind shifted Totally Hooked into additional slips. Several House boats  (Cactus Moon, x, Drifter, Powellin Around, Powell N' Around too, ColoRADo,  Red Rock'N, Pirates Paradise, and It's a Powell Day) tied  up to dock caught fire. National Park Service began  fire suppression around 19:52  and continued until extinguished around 22:33 . I (Ranger) was notified of the fire (but unavailable) and responded the next day to Bullfrog to help complete the Boat Accident Report . All boats besides Drifter were a total loss. 

ON SCENE:
Once at the scene of the fire around 1500, I began my Boat Incident Investigation by documenting each boat via photos, locations, and extent of damage to boats/docks. I first took photos of what was believed to be "Pirates Paradise". The vessel was beached across the bay southwest from the marina with a boom kit holding in debris and oil. The vessel was later moved to Bullfrog Bay near North Ramp by Aramark. All boats that were still attached to the dock, besides Drifter, were burnt all to their hulls.

Two boats that were originally tied to the dock sank. An Unnamed Vessel sunk in place. The other vessel that sank is Powellin Around it is believed that this vessel sank just  south of the slip approximately 15 yards away. Both Vessels that have sunk will be recovered by Aramark, photos of the vessel will be added later in a Supplemental. Using my patrol boats down scan function, I was able to mark several anomalies, which I believe to be the two sunken houseboats. After marking the sunken vessels , I began to document a Vessel ID as Totally Hooked that was tied off to F dock. Totally Hooked was partially sunken with only one pontoon hull keeping it afloat. Totally Hooked was a vessel of origin that started in Slip. Totally Hooked was a total loss and will be pulled by Aramark at a later time. 

The remaining vessels, Cactus Moon, Red Rock N', were located north of the Bullfrog North Aux ramp. The two vessels were burnt to the water line and are  total loss. Vessels were secured by anchor lines and boom spill kits to hold in remaining items. SEE PHOTOS ATTACHED

The following day 10/28/23, around 0800 I made contact with the National Park Service and Aramark. I obtained the witness statements, vessel information, and a debrief of the timeline of the incident. With the information provided via cad and witness statements we were able to piece together a better timeline of the incident.

TIMELINE of INCIDENT:
Around 19:00, Totally Hooked was observed by Boat Owners from Dock. According to Witness statements and others not mentioned by name were first on scene that tried to extinguish the fire. SUBJECT1 and SUBJECT2 stated they used the water hose and a couple fire extinguishers. SUBJECT1 stated, "We immediately pulled the power cord, and started spraying water and using multiple extinguishers to put it out. We had the fire out and then it started up again." Initial they stated they had put out the fire and in correlation to CAD that was estimated to be around 19:20 . 

SUBJECT3 stated, "...Assisted them. Ran around the boat looking for occupants. Watched a guy break a couple windows. Tried with him to enter the boat..."  From around 19:20 to 19:28  Totally Hooked was pushed out of the slip. After it was pushed out many accounts stated that an Aramark boat started pushing it towards the tire line/ breakwater. From 19:30 to 19::35 Totally Hooked broke away from the breakwater and with the current wind vessel made contact with A Dock. Totally Hooked then made  contact with Pirates Paradise at the end of A dock. Aramark attempted to disconnect the two vessels but was overcome by heat and smoke from the fire. Around 19:35 it was confirmed that A dock was involved with the fire. 1940 the Bullfrog Marina started to become evacuated. Vessel 290 (Bullfrog Fire Boat) began to suppress the fire around 19:49. The suppression lasted until 22:33 when it was reported extinguished. 

MEDICAL:
There were three patients treated by NPS due to smoke inhalation. 2 were released on scene and the other flown out by ClassicAir around 00:12 .The Individual  who was flown was released that morning.

CONCLUSION:
Through our investigation from videos uploaded to social media, the fire started on the rear port side of the vessel. This would also match the burn marks along the dock. Using vessel schematics of, TOTALLY HOOKED, from previous marine survey done by Advanced Marine Surveys. The area of the initial source of the fire was at the utility closet, located underneath the stairs leading up to the second floor of the houseboat. The utility closet housed the electrical system of the boat. The system ran off two Li3 Lithionics 12v 4S battery. The vessel was also equip with a Surge Guard Power Protection made by Technology Research (TRC). The rest of the electrical was also wired and labeled in the closet. Researching on U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission Indicated that there was no recalls for the Li 3 batteries. With the marine survey that was completed in January 2023 all this information was provided about vessel. The last known party to occupy the vessel was Sunday October 24, 2023. With all the information provided by witnesses, video/social media, the marine survey, and the fire investigators from both the State and Federal investigations the cause of the fire was determined unknown. 

Additional Reports:

The National Park Service and The State of Utah Fire Marshall have conducted investigated reports. NPS is taking the medical report for involved patients. The Fire/Engine reports will be completed by the National Park Service . As each agencies reports are completed, they will be uploaded as supplements to this report.
Lake Powell
Bullfrog                      