Large crowds drawn to watch ship fire in Ashtabula Harbor
Mar. 15—ASHTABULA — Large clouds of black smoke could be seen for miles as the Cuyahoga burned in Ashtabula Harbor on Friday afternoon.
Area residents jammed viewing areas taking photos and shooting video with cell phones at Point Park and the old CSX building on East Sixth Street near the bridge over the rail yard.
Harlan Rinto, who worked in the Ashtabula Harbor for 35 years, marveled at the fire from the back of the Ashtabula Maritime and Surface Transportation Museum. He said he was a fourth-generation worker on ships in Ashtabula Harbor.
He said he had never seen a fire like the one Friday.
Many others felt the same way as people tried to navigate in and out of a clogged parking lot at Point Park. Cars parked in the museum parking lot and up and down Walnut Boulevard.
The parking lot at the former CSX Railroad offices quickly filled with people trying to get the best view of the fire.
The Cuyahoga was docked in the western portion of the property northeast of the Ashtabula Lift Bridge. Firefighters arriving on the scene made their way through the property to get close enough to the ship to fight the blaze.
An Ashtabula ladder truck set up on the western side of the ship to fight the blaze and fire engines from numerous area companies responded to the fire.
