No injuries were reported in an early morning January 30, 2024, engine room fire aboard the twin-screw, 2,000 hp. towboat M/V Johnny M.
The 92-foot Johnny M., owned by Terral River Service, was pushing four loaded rock barges on Kentucky Lake, just south of the lock at Tennessee River Mile 22.4 when the port engine caught fire, said U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Jaiden Hartley, a spokesman for the Coast Guard’s Eighth District.
“The engineer shut down the engine and secured ventilation,” he said. “The boat moored at the mooring cells above Kentucky Lock, where the fire re-flashed in the engine room. The vessel’s master then called 911 and reported the fire.”
The Marshall County (Ky.) Rescue Squad was dispatched at 6:52 a.m. along with the East Marshall Volunteer Fire District to assist Livingston County authorities with the fire on board the towboat, according to the Marshall County Rescue Squad (MCRS).
“These departments alongside Ledbetter Fire and Rescue, Burna Fire Department, Grand Lakes Fire and Rescue, Calloway County Fire-Rescue, the Livingston County Officer of Emergency Management, Area 1 Kentucky Emergency Services Agency, E3 Environmental, and the Kentucky Environmental Protection Agency worked tirelessly to get this under control and make sure that everyone was safe,” the MCRS said.
Johnny M was built in 2009 by New South Marine Construction of Greenville, Ms., and is powered by twin Caterpillar II diesel engines. Plans called for the Johnny M to be taken to Vulcan Dock in Vulcan Inlet by tow, with a containment boom positioned around it as a precaution.
The Coast Guard investigation into the exact cause of the fire is continuing.