Seneca Boat Fire Injures Fifteen

A Carver motor cruiser of twelve meters in length injured fifteen while it engulfed in flames and later exploded while fueling at Spring Brook Marina, Seneca, Illinois River, seventy miles to the South of Chicago at about 16:20 hours of Saturday 28 May.  Fourteen of the persons injured where onboard the boat which had seventeen passengers, while another injured person was a marina employee.  One of the persons suffered grievous injuries and was air lifted to a local hospital.  Before the fire and explosion the boat was reporting as having engine problems and returned to the marina to refuel.

The boat in this fire is a Carver 405 Aft Cabin produced from 1997 to 98 and renamed as 406 with very minor differences from 99 to 2002.  The Carver 405 Aft Cabin has a two cabins layout with a lower deck located galley, a master suite located aft, and a forward double guest cabin with offset double berth forward.  The 405/406 Aft Cabin features a modified medium-V hull shape, and was powered by twin Mercruiser 380hp gas engines and or Cummins 330 or 370hp diesel in line shafts.  Speeds where up to mid twenties with the optional Cummins diesels.  The Carver 405 Aft Cabin was a redevelopment of 1990 to 96 produced 370 Aft Cabin with integrated bathing platform and updated styling.