A boater was unharmed, but their boat was destroyed by fire near L’Orignal on Friday, September 27.
At 3:09 pm, Champlain Township firefighters responded to a boat fire on the Ottawa River offshore of Domaine Chartrand. According to Champlain Township Fire Chief Ghislain Pigeon, the only occupant of the boat tried to put out the fire with an extinguisher, but the flames became too hot, so he jumped in the water. Another boater rescued the occupant of the burning boat. There were no injuries. Firefighters from Lefaivre arrived and used their boat and a rope to tow the burning boat to shore where firefighters then used water and foam to extinguish the fire.
The OPP contacted Environment Canada and the Coast Guard about the incident, but Pigeon said neither agency attended the scene. Once the fire was extinguished, the remains of the boat were taken to the Lefaivre fire station.
Pigeon said a total of 11 firefighters from L’Orignal and 10 from Lefaivre responded to the call.
