Several vessels moored at Reed Point Marina in Port Moody sank in a fire early Saturday morning, the fire department tells 1130 NewsRadio.

Deputy Fire Chief Jason Harper with Port Moody Fire Rescue says crews were called shortly before 1 a.m.

“On arrival, we came across that we had five boats fully involved,” Harper said.

“We established the water supply and then were able to try and maintain it in the area of origin.”

He says it is challenging to deal with fires on boats.

“You can’t board the boats to get into the little cubbyholes, so they continue to flash up and catch fire,” Harper said.

“Unfortunately, at the same time as you are extinguishing the fire, you are also filling the boat up with water, which results in the boats sinking themselves to the ocean floor.”

He says the cause is undetermined because the boats have sunk so they can’t easily be examined.

“It’s very difficult for us to be able to determine exactly when and where the exact cause of the fire is,” he said.

“Our investigator will probably be speaking to the boat owners and just trying to determine if anyone had been doing any work on their boats, or if they had heaters on board, or if they were plugged in, which most of them are.”

Const. Sam Zacharias of the Port Moody Police Department says officers assisted fire crews with traffic control and scene management. He says the vessels were unoccupied at the time of the fire.