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Crosby Yacht Yard Fire
Posted 01/03/2004. Updated Dec 5, 2012
Photos by Britton Crosby
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A 1989 aerial photograph of the area shows the
involved sheds in the center.
OSTERVILLE, MA.
Wednesday, December 10, 2003 2131 Hours
A huge part of Osterville's historic
waterfront went up in flames as a spectacular
5 Alarm fire destroyed three large
boat storage sheds belonging to Crosby Yacht
Yard and a fourth storage shed and
boat storage racks belonging to Oyster Harbors
Marine. The fire destroyed over
40,000 square feet of buildings and possibly 100
boats in one of the largest fires to
strike the Cape in many years. The loss of
some 20 wooden Wianno Senior
sailboats and other wooden boats, as well as many
fiberglass vessels will run into the
tens of millions of dollars. The impact to the
area is devastating in many ways, and
the damage is still to be fully assessed.
The fire
was reported at approximately 2131 hours on Wednesday December 10,
2003. The night was fairly mild
at 45 degrees with a light easterly breeze. A couple
inches of snow still covered the
ground in a slushy mix. The first calls reported
visible fire from one of the 'sheds'
which measured approximately 280' x 80'.
Multiple calls were received and it
was clear early on that a serious fire was
under way. My home is
within sight of the complex and as soon as I walked
outside and observed the large volume
of fire that was already showing from this
well known target hazard, a call was
made to transmit a 3rd alarm assignment.
This was one of the first
photographs I was able to take. It shows the volume of fire that
had already engulfed the largest of the sheds before any fire
apparatus arrived. Upon
arrival at the scene, Chief John Farrington of the COMM Fire
Department struck a 4th
alarm. Subsequent calls went out for additional ladder
companies and other apparatus
bringing the assignment to several pieces over the 5th alarm.
Approximately 14 engines,
6 ladder trucks, a heavy rescue, 5 ambulances, a fireboat,
and over 7 chief officers, along
with over 110 firefighters fought the fire for several hours
before bringing it under control.
Firefighters and apparatus from COMM,
Cotuit, Hyannis, Barnstable, West Barnstable,
Mashpee, Sandwich, Falmouth, Otis, and Yarmouth responded to the
scene. Approximately
7000 gpm was flowing through 3 ladder pipes, several deluge guns,
and numerous large
handlines. Apparatus from across the Cape provided coverage
for vacant stations. In all,
19 departments were involved in the incident. The Red Cross,
CIEMSS, Barnstable Police,
the Sheriff's Department, the Fire Marshall's Office, and others
played a roll in this major
incident.
NOTE: Additional photos
previously not published are on Page 8 and 9 of this feature
posted December 2012.
1989 aerial view of the area. The large sheds
left center are the Crosby Yacht storage
sheds that were destroyed. The main shop of
Crosby Yacht is to the right of center.
The destroyed sheds included Shed 3 (280' x 80' wood
with two different roof lines including
a bowed truss roof). Shed 4 is the 150' x 50'
aluminum shed to the right. Shed 2 is an older
100' x 50' wooded shed on the side 3/4 corner. A
shed on the left (side 2) side of shed 3
on the Oyster Harbors Marine property was also
destroyed.
Side 1 of shed 3. The trailer was no longer there at
the time of the fire, but several boats
were in that same location. The rack storage to the
left is Oyster Harbors Marine.
The large shed 3 had two roof styles. Side 1 a
conventional pitched roof, while the rear
2/3 of the building was a higher bowed roof. The
aluminum shed is just feet to the right.
The aluminum shed (Shed 4) on the
complex.
Shed 4 on the left and shed 3 on the
right looking towards side 1. The proximity of the
buildings and the amount of fire on
arrival made any defense of the exposures impossible
from this area.
The older and smallest of the sheds
was Shed 2. Approximately 100' x 50' in size, it was
separated from shed 4 by the alley to
the left. Shed 3 is behind shed 2 in this view.
The storage buildings on the Oyster
Harbors Marine side backed up to Shed 3. Only a
few feet between the two sheds
separated the two boat yards. This building was also
destroyed.
A close up view of the Crosby Yacht
sheds and Oyster Harbors Marine shed.
The scene from the air 10 days
following the fire. West Bat Road runs from right corner
straight to water at town dock.
The clusters of white boats on the right are in the Crosby
Yacht parking lot on Crosby Circle.
Bridge Street runs along the bottom of the photo and
to the left over the draw bridge.
Cockachoiset Lane (fire address) runs from Bridge St
just right of center, to the right
side of the fire. The entrance to Oyster Harbors Marine
is off Bridge Street midway up the
left side of the photo to the other cluster of white boats.
The piers of the Little Island
portion of Oyster Harbors Marine are visible at the top of
the photo. Shed 5 (not harmed)
is visible in the middle of the photo with a green roof.
Nauticus Marine (a private marina) is
located between the Crosby Yacht main shed and
the fire buildings. The white
shell driveway and tall flag mast are visible to the right
of the fire. That property was
not damaged.
The extent of the fire from side 3.
The proximity of exposures, including dozens of boats
can be appreciated from this view.
This was one of the largest fires in
the history of the COMM Fire Department and one of
the largest on the Cape in many
years. Firefighters were credited with saving adjacent
properties and millions of dollars
worth of boats. Favorable weather conditions, pre fire
plans, training, and a well executed
mutual aid plan helped keep the fire from being
worse than it was.
Additional Photos follow....