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A spectacular fire swept through a Gate 5 houseboat last night, destroying it before it sank in the mudflats between Strawberry Point and Gate 5. No one was injured. The blazing boat also dam $3,000 to the structure and $200 fore neighbors cut it loose and towed it away from the thickly populated area, Marin County Fire Chief Louis J. Bloom re ported. Bloom said the fire call came at 9:43 p.m. When the first unit arrived a few minutes later the houseboat already was being towed away. Neighbors told Bloom they heard a sound like someone blowing a horn, looked out and saw the houseboat afire. An ex plosion followed, he said. The cause of the fire is being investigated. Bloom said the boat was owned by John Steinert and Dennis Samson. Neither was at home at the time of the fire. Bloom estimated damage at $3,000 to the structure and $200 to the contents. A boat owned by Eric Morris had 14 windows broken and the side was scorched — $400 dam age. The boat on the other side, owned by Pat Petteruti, had $100 damage, Bloom reported. Assisting the county fire de partment was the City of Sau salito and the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard was called in as the boat was being towed out but as two Coast Guard boats arrived, the houseboat burned to the water and sank. Bloom said major assistance also came from neighbors. The area is one which has worried county officials for some time, Bloom said. There are no hydrants and water has to be hauled in. The fire followed by three days a statement on national television by John F. McInnis, chairman of the board of super visors, on the health and safety problems of the houseboat colo ny. They've never had a fire so they don’t think there will be one, McInnis said.
Newspaper Details
San Rafael Daily Independent Journal
San Rafael, California, US
Wed, Aug 27, 1969
Page 13
Full Page
Clipped by
Janey O.
USA 29 Jun 2026
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