Men escape burning boat

A shrimp boat burning on the Indian River was allowed to simply burn itself out Thursday after two men onboard escaped the flames in the waters near Rockledge.

The men were travelling from the North Carolina coast to Lake Charles, La. to use the boat for their shrimp business.
 
But now their plans are sunk along with the boat, which is a total loss.
 
Fortunately, they were plucked from the middle of the river after jumping overboard.

“I went to the engine room to see if I saw something, and it was just gushing out,” said Rick Kilgore, boat fire victim.

Kilgore and his shipmate had just bought the "Miss Kaitlyn."

They were in the middle of the Indian River when the engine caught fire.

“[I] grabbed a couple of life jackets, threw him one. Went to the back of the boat, saw a big flame and I dove off,” Kilgore said.

Several people along the bank saw smoke pouring from the boat.

Ken Wartell was renovating a house down the street.

”I saw the shrimp boat on fire in the middle of the channel, and saw it drift in,” Wartell said.

Florent LesPerance owns the dock where the burning boat ended up. He called 911.

“Lots of commotion. We've never seen so many people around at one time,” LesPerance said.

Many were Rockledge and Brevard County firefighters who had to wait until the craft floated close to shore to hit it with water.

They pulled hundreds of feet of hose in the scorching heat as the U.S Coast Guard monitored.

The 1,600 gallons of diesel fuel worked against them, and the shrimp boat began to lose the battle. 

Meantime, the two men onboard had been scooped up by a passing boat and taken to safety.

“No money, no wallet, no credit card, no nothing. I don't know what I'm going to do,” Kilgore said.

Fortunately, the Red Cross is helping the men out, along with a neighbor who offered them a place to stay and some food.
 
As far as insurance, Kilgore isn't sure if the policy has gone into effect since they just bought the boat three weeks ago.