It could be some time before the Flanders is back in operation in the province’s ferry fleet after a fire in the engine room on Thursday.

Eight crew were treated in hospital for smoke inhalation and released after fire broke out just as the ferry pulled away from the breakwater in Portugal Cove with a full compliment of passengers on board.

Damage to the ferry is significant, but thankfully there were no serious injuries.

The captain and crew are being commended for their quick actions, and Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s Fire Chief, Fred Hollett, whose team knocked the blaze down, says had the fire occurred further out into the Tickle, it’s hard to say how things might have gone.

Hollett says he’s not a marine officer, but he does say if the fire had been discovered farther out into the Tickle, it would have been purely upon the crew of the vessel to deal with the issue. “I’m sure the captain would have made for shore as early as possible,” says Hollett, but whether or not the fire would continue to burn, or whether it would have affected the propulsion of the vessel “I wouldn’t know.”

Members of the Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s Fire Department are trained for shipboard firefighting because of the ferry service and responding members were met with thick, black smoke and heavy flame in the engine room where the fire originated. He says fire on a boat is very different from that in a building and his crew managed to douse the flames in challenging conditions.