African Queen fire appeal gets under way A fundraising effort has begun to support the owners of the African Queen, which was gutted by a fire this week. The boat, first built in 1946, was struck by fire late on Monday March 10 and blazed until the early hours of Tuesday morning. A team of organisations, including Dart Harbour, the RNLI, HM Coastguard, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue service, and the Lower Ferry worked together to save the vessel and safeguard others as it burned whilst moored to a pontoon in the middle of the river. More than 60 people were involved in the fight to save the vessel. Despite many challenges the fire was brought under control after the 15m boat was moved across onto the South Embankment to allow easier access for emergency services. The vessel has now been lifted out at Darthaven Marina and is being assessed by insurance assessors and marine accident investigators to look for the cause of the fire and the damage caused. Now the fire has been put out, the thoughts of the community turn to the boat’s owners, Hilary and Alan Hemsley, who have lost both their home and their livelihood in one terrible night. Many people who know the couple have expressed a desire to help them, and Harbour Master Rob Giles has offered for the harbour authority to handle all donations through a special account. “We all want to help so we have set up a special bank account for people to pay donations into,” said Capt Giles. “It’s the least we can do as an authority to help Alan and Hilary, who are very well regarded on the river. We hope that it helps to make a difficult situation a little easier.” If you would like to donate, you can send cheques, made payable to ‘DHNA African Queen Fund’, to the Dart Harbour Offices, 6 Oxford Street, Dartmouth, TQ6 9AL
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 18:05:56 +0000