A Birchwood caught fire at Old Windsor Lock on Saturday but luckily all four crew managed to escape
A family of four managed to escape from a fire on board their Birchwood on Saturday following an explosion at Old Windsor Lock.
Two adults and two children were on board the Birchwood 22 when the explosion took place shortly before 1pm on Saturday.
According to bystanders the boat was preparing to leave the lock when there was an explosion and the lock-keeper quickly evacuated the scene.
Firefighters from Windsor, Slough and Langley and a water rescue unit from Reading responded and took about 25 minutes to bring the fire under control.
Christine Wilkinson who witnessed the whole scene said, “Within minutes there was thick black smoke and then flames and five minutes later it was an inferno. One of the children was inside but was quickly pulled to safety through the front hatch. Only superficial skin singeing was experienced by one of the people.”
The boat was destroyed in the fire. For more pictures of the incident see our gallery .
