On the morning of November 5, 2023 a small fire was observed by a nearby witness emanating from the port side rear cockpit area of a sailboat docked and unoccupied at the racine riverside marina located in racine, wi. 

The bystander made an attempt to extinguish the fire with a dry chemical fire extinguisher and contacted emergency services. Racine fire and police responded to the scene of the incident and extinguished the fire. Fire department investigators ruled out arson as an originating factor of the fire and later determined in their report that electricity was the likely competent ignition source found in the area of origin. In this scenario, the ignition sequence is likely an electrical event creating sufficient heat to ignite nearby combustibles. Further examination by qualified experts is required to determine the exact failure that caused this fire. The yacht that burned is a 2022 durfour 470, which is a 47 foot sailing vessel. She is docked in slip with her stern to the shore and bow to the river. The vessel is tied to the pier on the port side. Preliminary indications are the vessel is a total loss, with an estimated value of $815,000.

Root River
Racine                        