3 N.B. fishermen plucked from burning boat
Rescue evokes earlier tragedy
CBC News
Posted: Feb 8, 2012 7:31 PM AT
Last Updated: Feb 8, 2012 8:28 PM AT
A Cooke Aquaculture boat tows Arthur Middleton's vessel to shore while an auxiliary Coast Guard boat helps to extinguish the fire on board. (Courtesy of Rupert Lambert)
Three Grand Manan fishermen had to be rescued Wednesday morning after their boat caught fire just a few kilometres from where the ship's captain's father drowned 40 years ago.
It was the captain’s younger brother, Joseph Middleton, who answered the call for help.
“I thank the Lord above that he’s OK,” said Middleton, who's the New Brunswick production manager for Cooke Aquaculture and was able to send one of the company's nearby boats to assist.
"Our family’s learnt to have a lot of respect for the ocean," he said.
Captain Arthur Middleton told CBC News the day started off like any other.
'I might have been excited on the phone, but I never panicked...If you panic, that’s when things really happen.'—Captain Arthur Middleton
He and two crew members headed out in his 13-metre fibreglass boat, Jesse and Girls, about 5:30 a.m. to fish for scallops in the Bay of Fundy.
About 7 a.m., when they were in Duck Island Sound, just off the eastern shore of the island, he noticed something coming from the engine room.
"I smelt wood burning so I checked it out and brought my gear back and tried to put the fire out," he said.
"I couldn’t get it out with the fire extinguisher and there was so much smoke, I had to get out."
Middleton called the Coast Guard. Then he called his brother.
"I might have been excited on the phone, but I never panicked," Arthur Middleton said. "If you panic, that's when things really happen."
Memories of father's drowning
It was, however, a scary call for his brother Joseph to get. It brought back memories of 1971 when their father was thrown overboard from his lobster boat and his body was never recovered.
"That’s the first thing that comes into my mind, sir, and my heart when there's someone in trouble on the water, on the ocean," Joseph Middleton explained.
"It's a very scary situation with a fire on board a vessel because there's nowhere to go except into the cold, freezing water.
"I'm just glad there was aquaculture guys around to help save his life," Joseph Middleton said. "As you can tell with the smoke, that fire was getting ready to go really out of control on that vessel."
Arthur Middleton said he shut off the engine and fuel tanks, and got the lifeboat ready, just in case.
But a Cooke salmon boat arrived within about 15 minutes, took him and the crew on board and towed their boat to shore.
Meanwhile, Arthur Middleton and a crew member from an auxiliary Coast Guard boat tried to extinguish the fire with a deck hose.
The fire department used foam to ensure the fire was out.
He estimates the damage to be in excess of $100,000, but has to wait for the insurance adjustor to assess the damages on Friday.
"Fire don't help out a boat," he said.
Still, the harrowing experience won't keep Arthur Middletown from doing what he loves.
"If you're scared of the water you don't want to be on it. I'm not scared of the water. I love fishing," he said.
Share Tools
Latest New Brunswick News Headlines
- N.B. firefighters warned of lawsuit threat
- Firefighters need more protection against legal action, according to a former chief in New Brunswick. more »
- Armed robbery at Saint John gas bar
- There was an armed robbery at a Saint John, N.B., gas station Friday night. more »
- Cataractes advance to Memorial Cup final by beating Sea Dogs
- Yannick Veilleux broke a tie at 13:14 of the third period as the host Shawinigan Cataractes upset the defending champion Saint John Sea Dogs 7-4 in the semifinal of the Mastercard Memorial Cup on Friday night. more »
- 4 arrests in Elsipogtog drug trafficking case
- Four people are facing charges in connection with a two-month long investigation into prescription drug trafficking on Elsipogtog First Nation. more »
Top News Headlines
- Canadian Pacific strikers face back-to-work legislation
- Labour Minister Lisa Raitt is prepared to end the Canadian Pacific Railway strike if necessary, after both CP and the union rejected a proposal for voluntary arbitration by the government-appointed negotiator on Sunday. Raitt says she is "extremely disappointed." more »
- Syrian regime denies role in Houla massacre
- The UN Security Council condemned the Syrian regime at an emergency meeting Sunday, holding president Bashar al-Assad's military responsible for the massacre of more than 100 people, dozens of whom were children younger than 10 years old. more »
- Ryder Hesjedal wins prestigious Giro d'Italia
- Victoria native Ryder Hesjedal has become the first Canadian to win one of the cycling world's three Grand Tour events, wrapping up the 2012 Giro d'Italia with an excellent performance in the final stage in Milan. more »
- Neighbour may have helped find missing kids in Mexico
- Two Winnipeg children who had been missing for nearly four years were found in Mexico after a man raised concerns about his neighbour, according to a private investigator. more »
- 'Suspicious' fire destroys former school in Marysville
- Woman robs store in Tracadie-Sheila
- Armed robbery at Saint John gas bar
- 'Wolf' killed in N.B. may be 1st in a century
- N.B. firefighters warned of lawsuit threat
- 4 arrests in Elsipogtog drug trafficking case
- Bullied Saint John boy given full-time attendant
- Maritimers mark anti-racism day
- E. coli outbreak linked to Jungle Jim's restaurant
