Flaming Boat Found in Dunedin Woman's Driveway

A boat fire Thursday night that occurred at a Dunedin residence is under investigation, according to a Pinellas County Sheriff's Office spokesman.

Officials report no injuries or fire damage to nearby structures.

According to the Sheriff's report, Paul Ray McCallister, 48, arrived home to see flames coming from his neighbor's boat that had been sitting on a trailer in her driveway for several days. The report states that McCallister immediately called his neighbor, Amy L. Wright-Mayle, 36, who was inside her home, to alert her of the fire, and then called 9-1-1 for the fire department.

Dunedin firefighters report being dispatched to the single family home on John F. Kennedy Street at 9:50 p.m., where they encountered Wright-Mayle's 2001 white, fiberglass, 18-foot Rinker Pleasure Boat fully engulfed in flames.

Firefighters called deputities to the scene at 10:19 p.m.

According to deputies, Wright-Mayle said that the boat appeared fine when she arrived home around 8 p.m. on April 28. The Sheriff's report states that she tried to consign the boat this month, but that it was turned away because of apparent rust damage.

The damage is estimated at $5,000, according to a statement from the Dunedin fire department. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Arson Unit is investigating.

Units from Palm Harbor and Clearwater Fire Departments assisted putting out the fire.