It absolutely floored me when Chris Seastrom, 27, told me that he was blown 40 feet into the air when a jet ski he started blew up. The explosion left him in traction for a year and with a lasting impression of the danger of vapor fumes enclosed engine spaces.

Seastrom recently told me this story while I was inspecting his 19-foot supreme powerboat. He said a slow leak from a gas line in the engine space emitted gas vapor that ignited when he started the small craft. Whether it be a small craft or large, gasoline vapors can be deadly.

Several years ago a Mother’s day celebration on the Cuyahoya River, Cleveland abruptly ended in a fiery explosion. The deadly mishap occurred aboard a 33-foot Chris Craft powerboat, leaving a nine-month-old child without parents. The blast also killed his grandparents.

The explosion occurred while the Chris Craft cabin cruiser was moored at a restaurant on the Cuyahoya River. Rescuers pulled the infant from the fiery wreck seconds before it was engulfed in flames.

The powerful blast reached several people dining in the restaurant’s outdoor dockside section. One patron suffered a broken arm, another leg injuries. Five others, including three children were treated for minor burns.

Fire marshals confirmed that a fuel leak caused the explosion. Investigators, however, couldn’t determine whether the leak came from a fuel tank or supply line to the engine. One official said, "The leak may have been as tiny as a pinhole."

According to sources, about one hour before the explosion, the owner had filled the vessel’s fuel tank with 160 gallons of gasoline. A short time later while moored alongside the restaurant, the owner cranked the generator for about ten minutes. Meanwhile gas fumes seeped into the boat’s bilges. Apparently a spark from the generator set off the explosion.

Divers recovered blowers used to ventilate fumes. Officials reported they were not operating at the time of the explosion. Investigators said that fortunately the door leading to inside the restaurant had been closed. If not, the fireball may have engulfed patrons inside the restaurant.

Propane kills as well. I recall a similar incident involving propane that sent a couple to the hospital in critical condition. The incident occurred in Marina Del Rey, California while I was assigned to Coast Guard Cutter Point Bridge. Following the explosion at a nearby boat slip, a L.A. County Sheriff’s marine division boat towed the splintered 27-foot sailboat to their docks adjacent to the Coast Guard moorings.

The Coast Guard cutter’s bridge provided me a full view of the damage. The blast had severed the entire main deck and cabin from the hull. According to a sheriff deputy, the couple got up around 4 a.m. and struck a match to light the propane stove. The match ignited vapors caused by an apparent leak in a propane line. The sight of that deck lying cockeyed across the hull made me wonder how the couple survived the blast at all.

Before cranking over a gasoline engine or generator located within enclosed spaces, boaters should check the following: Gasoline Powered Boats