PORT TOWNSEND ­­— A small sailboat exploded into flames in an apparent propane explosion this afternoon, blackening the sky and crowding downtown with rescue personnel and spectators.

While there were some efforts to extinguish the flames, the boat was eventually towed out into the bay and sunk, East Jefferson Fire-Rescue Chief Gordon Pomeroy said.

No one was injured.

The boat’s operator was not aboard when it caught fire and arrived on shore to watch the flames and smoke after the fire started.

Pomeroy said the operator did not own the craft, described by the Coast Guard as a 40-foot Catalina sailboat that was one of several legally anchored in the bay off City Dock.

Pomeroy said they thought the operator lived on the boat “and lost everything.”

The operator would not identify himself to the Peninsula Daily News, and fire officials would not release his name.

One of the operator’s acquaintances provided a name that turned out to be false.

The boat will not be recovered, so there will be no charges filed, Pomeroy said.

“We thought that propane tanks might have been improperly leaned against a heater.” he said, “but we will never know.”

Fire Investigator Kurt Steinbach said his preliminary investigation indicated that the fire was accidental.

Shortly after arriving at the scene, fire officials heard two loud blasts, which they attributed to exploding propane tanks.

The operator told officials that three more propane tanks were on the boat, but there were no further explosions.

Fire-Rescue personnel later found the three tanks floating in the bay, Pomeroy said.

Three fire engines arrived on scene, but two left and the crew of the third piloted a Fire-Rescue boat, according to Pomeroy.

The crew hooked the flaming sailboat and towed it farther out into the bay as the Coast Guard created a boundary to restrict other boats.

The ferry Steilacoom II was on schedule but slightly rerouted to avoid the fire, according to Pomeroy.

Pomeroy said Fire-Rescue was unable to extinguish the fire because the pump on its boat was broken, and the department could not afford its $10,000 replacement.

“The pump was going to cost us more to fix than what it was worth,” Pomeroy said.

“Its replacement is in next year’s budget.”

Instead, water trained from the Port Angeles-based Coast Guard cutter Swordfish was used on the fire.

In addition to the Swordfish, a Coast Guard helicopters from Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles was on the scene.

Pomeroy said he could not estimate the cost of fighting the fire.

“I have no idea how much it cost,” he said.

“It was all part of our daily mission.”

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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.

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VIDEO: The PDN’s news partner, KOMO-TV, has video of the boat fire here: http://www.komonews.com/news/local/99788404.html