A Garstang man said he was lucky to be alive after saving himself and his pet dog from a burning boat on Lancaster Canal.
Shane Russell, his wife Yvonne and English Bull Terrier Dexter narrowly avoided disaster when their boat, ironically named ‘No Drama’, dramatically burst into flames near Garstang on Wednesday evening (11 June).
Shane, 64, from Garstang, suffered burns to his lips, nose, hands and stomach in the terrifying incident.
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He said: “The boat was moored at Moss Lane North and we set off on a nice evening cruise. However, the engine felt a bit lumpy and I carried on until I could pull over safely.
“My wife got off the boat and held the rope from the side of the canal and I went to check the engine. Everything seemed spot on but as I went to the back of the boat there was a smell of fumes, so I put on the bilge blower to fan them away. As I turned the ignition key to start her up there was what I can only describe as an explosion. It was so strong that it lifted the floorboards up on the boat.”
With smoke starting to form, Shane’s thoughts turned to his beloved bulldog, Dexter, who was still down in the main part of the boat.
“The boat was filling with black acrid smoke and I went down and grabbed the dog,” he said. “When I turned around, however, four foot high flames stood between me and the exit so I went to the front of the boat where the ‘Houdini hatch’ was open. Thankfully, we’d left it unlocked. If we hadn’t then I might not be here today.”
Choking as the black smoke engulfed them, Shane managed to throw Dexter through the Houdini hatch, which essentially acts as an emergency exit, and Yvonne caught him on the shore. As the boat burned and Shane couldn’t turn back, he too went out through the hatch.
As the fire brigade and police started to arrive, the extent of Shane’s burns started to become clear and he was whisked off to hospital for precautionary checks and treatment.
Speaking to Blog Preston two days after the ordeal, Shane was shaken but also thankful that his burning boat, which he had owned for three years, did not float into the marina or other nearby boats.
He said: “I was devasted by what happened, but when you consider how bad it was I now just feel lucky to be alive. And I would do the same again in terms of going back in for my dog. Dogs are far more than just a creature that follows you around and those who say I should have left him simply don’t understand what he means to me.”
Shane added that while he has had boats all his life, he wasn’t planning to replace ‘No Drama’ anytime soon.
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