The crew of the Marine Clipper II arrived in St. John's Tuesday, hours after they escaped from their burning crab boat (inset). (CBC/ Canadian Coast Guard)

Five fishermen who escaped from a burning fishing boat northeast of St. John's early Tuesday credited safety training for saving their lives.

This fisherman, who would not identify himself, said he credits safety training for saving his life. (CBC)

The skipper and crew of the Marine Clipper II leapt from the boat into a life-raft after noticing fire. Other fishing vessels in the area responded quickly.

"Nobody understands how fast it actually happened," one of the crewmembers told CBC News after he and his crew arrived in St. John's aboard the supply vessel Burin Sea.

"Within minutes from the time we [saw] the fire and smoke till we were in the life-raft ... we didn't have time to check. It was really quick," said the crewmember, who would not identify himself.

The fisherman and his co-workers said they survived the ordeal because they had been diligent in their training, particularly in how to don survival suits.

All but one of the crew were able to put on survival suits before they escaped from the burning boat.

This photograph, taken by a Canadian Forces Cormorant, shows how quickly fire consumed the Marine Clipper II on Tuesday morning. (DND)

"Practice, practice, practice getting in that suit," the fisherman said.

"Practice ahead of time for an emergency because you don't know — you don't know when it's going to happen…. When people say these practice drills are silly? They're not silly."

A co-worker said he lost an uncle to a ship fire in 1994, and credited his older colleagues with insisting that he learn how to put on a survival suit before he learned anything else.

The crew was rescued about 28 kilometres northeast of St. John's.

The first vessel on the scene was another crab boat, the Goldorak I, which itself was fishing for crab just a few kilometres away.

Fisherman Dave Elliott said he was relieved to see a flare, and then see — as his vessel approached — that the Marine Clipper crew had been able to get off the burning vessel.

"They were all in the liferaft, safe and sound. That's the main thing," Elliott told CBC News Tuesday.

"One fellow was pretty cold. We had to give him some blankets … You can bet he was cold at this time of year," Elliott said. "They made it."