'Smoke, fire and a life-raft, that's all'

The crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire early Monday morning was greeted with tears and hugs from family members in St. John's.

The Ocean Commander caught fire and went down hundreds of kilometres northeast of St. John's, but all seven men on board were able to make it into a life-raft.

"Smoke, fire and a life-raft, that's all," said Keith Burdon, a crew member.

"I don't know- it was just too fast - all I know is we got the life-raft off the roof, threw it in the water, and everybody got into it, safe and sound."

The Hudson, a coast guard vessel, was about 10 kilometres from where the vessel caught fire. It picked up the men, assisted by three fishing vessels in the area.

The 13-metre Ocean Commander was fishing for turbot, and had been on the water for about five days.

Burdon said he'd been asleep when the fire started, and he'd only just had time to pull on a survival suit before the crew abandoned the boat.

One crew member, Randy Budgell, is diabetic, and another coast guard vessel - the Sir Wilfred Grenfell - brought him insulin, and then transported the crew to St. John's so the Hudson could get back to its research.

The cause of the fire, which started about 2:30 a.m., is unknown, but skipper Gerald Foss said it started in the engine room.

It will be up to the Transportation Safety Board to decide whether to do an investigation.

The crew, all from La Scie, were planning on spending the night in St. John's before heading back home this morning.

George Ryan, the owner of the vessel, said it was insured, but he was more focused on the fact that the crew was OK.

Ryan said he got the news of the incident around 4 a.m. when his son, also out fishing, called him.

"He said, 'Dad, don't be alarmed, everybody's all right,' that's how he said it," Ryan said. "Then he said, 'The Ocean Commander is on fire, but they're all aboard the coast guard ship.'"

amorrissey@thetelegram.com jmcleod@thetelegram.com