Firefighters attend to a small pleasure boat after it caught fire in Ahuriri on Tuesday evening. Photo / Supplied
Two people were forced to jump into the water as the pleasure boat they were on caught fire in Napier's Inner Harbour.
A Fire and Emergency NZ spokeswoman said the pair jumped out of their small boat, which was powered by an outboard motor, near Nelson Quay, Ahuriri, just before 8pm on Tuesday.
At least three police vehicles and a St John ambulance were called to the scene, but the pair did not require treatment.
Harbourmaster Martin Moore said the pair were trying to launch their boat using an outboard that had not been started since March 2020, when it caught alight.
Once the pair had abandoned the boat,+ a larger pleasure boat in the area used its propeller wash to push the drifting vessel closer to the wharf.
This action was "instrumental" in helping firefighters from the Napier brigade reach the well-alight boat with their hoses, Moore said.
Moore said there was no pollution or damage to infrastructure as a result of the fire, but he would advise people to get their outboard motors looked at before trying to launch their boats for the first time in months.
"If that boat had have been serviced by a professional beforehand, we may not have had this result.
"The silver lining in all this is that the pair of them weren't injured in any way. The owner is fortunate - he's slept in his own bed last night rather than a hospital bed."
Motorists are being warned to expect hazardous driving conditions.