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First trip on boat for Scappoose grandmother, grandkids turns into fight for survival near Sauvie Island
Updated Dec 18, 2020; Posted Dec 18, 2020
Susan Fought and her granddaughters, before her boat went up in flames. (James Slater)
By
Lizzy Acker | The Oregonian/OregonLive
Susan Fought was excited about her new boat. Sure, it wasn’t exactly “new” new, but she had just purchased the 1967 Bellboy Cabin Cruiser in mint condition from the original owner.
So on Tuesday, Fought took her two granddaughters, ages 6 and 8, her fiance James Slater, and two labradors, a puppy named Buddy and a 14-year-old dog named Chaos, out for a spin in the Multnomah Channel near Sauvie Island.
“We didn’t realize that one of the gas tanks had a little leak in it,” Fought, of Scappoose, said Friday, describing the events that turned her “getaway boat” into a burned-out hull and sent her family swimming for their lives.
Susan Fought's boat, before it caught on fire. (James Slater)
The leak, said Fought, caused a small explosion. Fought and Slater used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire started by that explosion, she said.
Then they decided to stop for lunch. They dropped anchor, and a second explosion rocked the boat.
The boat wasn’t equipped with another fire extinguisher.
“I tried to call 911 and I was on hold for over five minutes,” Fought said. “I ended up having to hang up and jump off the boat because the windows were exploding.”
The two girls were wearing life jackets. Fought was wearing an instant-inflate-style life jacket but Slater wasn’t able to get to his life jacket in time so he grabbed a floating cushion.
“We got the grandkids off and the dogs off,” Fought said. “It was really cold and Buddy was scared.”
Slater held onto the girls and the 5-month-old, 50-pound Buddy, he said. Buddy was so scared, he was clawing at Slater.
At one point, Slater said, the girls were grabbing at him and the dog was pulling him under and he had to punch the dog in the face to stop him from drowning all of them.
“I have nightmares from it,” Slater said. “It was very scary.”
Sgt. Steve Dangler, a 20-year veteran with the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office,
received a call about the boat fire Tuesday afternoon, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported earlier this week. He knew the water temperature, at 43 degrees, placed the family in danger.
The family was in the water for 20 or 30 minutes, Fought said, before they found their way to a muddy piece of shoreline
.
Fought and Slater credit Chaos for finding them the spot that saved their lives.
“She’s half-blind and she’s deaf, and she kept trying to get back on the boat,” Slater said.
But, he said, he was able to get her attention.
“She saw me and she swam all the way to shore,” Slater said. “She saved us by finding a piece of land we could get on and get dry.”
Stan Tonneson, co-owner of Rocky Pointe Marina and Boatyard on the Multnomah Channel, witnessed some of the rescue, as well as the effort to put out the fire on the boat.
Tonneson said Friday that Scappoose Fire put out the flames in a couple minutes once they reached the burning boat.
Still, the boat was destroyed.
“The whole top’s gone,” Tonneson said. “It’s just the bottom of the boat.”
The humans and dogs huddled on the beach trying to stay warm, Fought said. They waited about 10 minutes until Dangler was able to reach them.
River Patrol during the boat rescue. (Stan Tonneson)
When deputies found the family, they were suffering from hypothermia. They were able to get Fought, the girls and Buddy into a rescue boat, but Slater’s limbs had locked up and deputies needed help moving him safely.
Dangler stayed with Slater and Chaos while they waited for more help.
“I just kept talking to them, I was trying to comfort both of them,” Dangler told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Wednesday. “Help is on the way; we’re going to get you warm,” he said he told them.
At one point, Chaos laid his head back and both men thought the dog had died, Dangler said. Slater started screaming, “Don’t leave me now, don’t die on me!” Dangler said.
Five minutes later help arrived. The whole family was treated and released from OHSU Hospital on Wednesday, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office said.
Fought and Slater said the girls and both dogs are in good health, thanks to the life jackets, Dangler and the rescuers.
“If rescue hadn’t got there in time,” Slater said, “I don’t think I would have made it.”
Susan Fought's boat, a day after the fire and rescue. (Stan Tonneson)
Jamie Hale contributed to this report.
-- Lizzy Acker
www.oregonlive.com
