Coast Guard Responds to Barge Fire

According to reports, A cargo van whose contents caught fire on a barge was still billowing smoke as the vessel was being towed to Juneau from Frederick Sound. Officials said the fire broke out in the van, which was full of solid waste being shipped on an Alaska Marine Lines barge from Sitka to the disposal site in Washington state. A firefighting tug from Petersburg and a Coast Guard cutter hosed the blaze through the night. The firefighting tug continued to spray water on the fire Tuesday morning alongside the loaded barge, the Daily Sitka Sentinel. Coast Guard Lt. Mara Booth-Miller said the AML tug and barge were diverted to Juneau.

Nine containers of the 94 aboard the barge Baranof Provider caught fire while under tow by the AML tug Western Mariner, she said. Tug crew members were never in danger, and no one was on board the 200-foot barge, the report said. Source: AP