5-25-08
When Bob Hill set out on a trip to the beach with his two young daughters and one of their friends, it was supposed to be a relaxed day in the sun. Instead, all four of them were exposed to a different kind of heat, when the boat they had planned to spend the day in exploded…with them inside it.

It happened when Bob turned the ignition on the boat as they were preparing to launch it into the water. There was a flash
explosion, and the boat became consumed in flames. Thinking quickly, Bob tossed the three children overboard as fast as he could before leaping out himself. He then tried, to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher.  When that did work, some onlookers assisted him in pushing the boat down the dock and into the water. That extinguished the flames.

All three girls suffered burns to their legs from the explosion, and were taken to a nearby hospital. Thankfully, it wasn’t much worse. The most severe injury was second-degree burns to the legs of one of the girls, and all were expected to recover and be OK. Bob, the owner of the boat, believes that the explosion was caused by a leaky fuel line. Investigators, however, believe that he did not properly ventilate the en-gines before starting it, and they say that is what caused the explosion.