More than a dozen vessels damaged after houseboat catches fire at Elm Hill Marina in Nashville

The Nashville Fire Department arrived to find the houseboat engulfed in flames and the occupants already evacuated.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - A large fire at a Nashville marina damaged more than a dozen boats and a dock on Tuesday morning.

Massive plumes of smoke and rolling flames enveloped a dock at Elm Hill Marina on Percy Priest Lake just before 7 a.m. after flames from a house fire quickly spread at the marina.

When the Nashville Fire Department responded to the marina at approximately 6:50 a.m., they found a houseboat “fully involved with smoke and flames.”

A large fire at a Nashville marina damaged more than a dozen boats and a dock on Tuesday morning. Multiple boats and at least one dock caught fire at the marina on Percy Priest Lake early Tuesday morning.

“The vessel was docked in its slip, and the fire had already extended to several nearby boats,” a press release from NFD said.

Firefighters immediately worked to contain the flames, “stretching a handline the length of the pier and utilizing a tank-to-tank water supply due to the absence of fire hydrants within the marina.”

Marine Operations and Office of Emergency Management units joined in the battle against the blaze from the water.

“To help protect the surrounding environment, a special request was made for more than 1,000 feet of containment boom to control fuel and runoff from the damaged vessels,” the fire department reported.

An NFD spokesperson said at least 13 boats in total were damaged in the blaze.

“The heaviest damage was concentrated at the end of the dock where the fire began, while vessels moored near the beginning of the dock remained unaffected,” the press release said.The houseboat’s occupants managed to evacuate the vessel before NFD crews arrived and no injuries were reported.

The Metro Nashville Police Department also responded to the scene to prevent anyone from entering the area.

NFD crews turned the scene over to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency shortly before 11 a.m., and the state agency will lead the investigation into the blaze.