STAMFORD, Conn. -- An off-duty Westport police captain fishing off of Cedar Point rescued a boater from a burning 47-foot motor boat Saturday evening, according to police and fire officials.
The man was uninjured, and the cause of the fire is still under investigation, according to Norwalk Deputy Fire Chief Chris King.
Norwalk and Westport firefighters extinguished the blaze but the boat sank, according to King.
Shortly before 8 p.m., off-duty Westport Police Captain Sam Arciola spotted the burning boat while he was fishing on his own private boat with a friend.
Arciola pulled his vessel alongside the boat and brought the sole occupant to safety unscathed.
Three Westport police marine units were dispatched after receiving several 911 calls about the boat fire shortly after 8 p.m., and Norwalk firefighters arrived around 8:15 p.m. to a U.S. Coast Guard call about the distressed vessel, which was located between Cockenoe Island and Compo Beach in Westport.
Norwalk firefighters, assisted by Westport firefighters, brought the fire under control by 9:30 p.m., but the vessel burned down to the water line and sank.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
