Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue crews raced to Hendricks Isle around 6:05 a.m. Sunday, September 20, 2026, after a 58-foot catamaran named Promiscuous caught fire at a private dock. Still, nobody was aboard.
Cellphone video from the scene shows the stern engulfed, flames climbing the rigging as thick black smoke rolls over the marina. Neighbors said the blaze went from small to massive within seconds.
What witnesses on Fort Lauderdale’s Hendricks Isle heard first
Residents told Local 10 they woke up to a small fire near the stern. It grew fast, and then, within seconds, flames covered most of the hull.
A bystander’s video from a neighboring boat shows the fire lighting up the Las Olas waterway. Foto: Reproducao/WSVN 7News
Some said they heard a boom just before the flames took over. Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue hasn’t confirmed a blast, and the cause of the fire stays under investigation.
Hendricks Isle sits in one of Fort Lauderdale’s priciest marinas
The block sits along the Las Olas waterway, a canal lined with multimillion-dollar homes and yachts near the beach. A seven-figure catamaran tied up there draws little notice most mornings.
Sunday’s fire changed that fast. Smoke climbed high enough to be seen for miles, and boat owners up and down the canal came out to watch crews fight the blaze.
Nearly 20 units answer the call on the Las Olas waterway
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue sent close to 20 units to the dock. Crews arrived within minutes and found the catamaran already burning hard, flames concentrated near the engine room and stern.
It took about 30 minutes to knock down the bulk of the fire. Crews then spent another hour chasing hot spots buried inside the hull, according to Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue.
Why a boat fire burns hot and spreads fast
Frank Guzman, a Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue spokesperson, said boats carry more fuel for a fire than most buildings do. Fiberglass, foam and diesel all catch fast once flames start.
Watch WSVN’s report on the Fort Lauderdale catamaran fire, including fire crews’ response and the aftermath. Vídeo: Reproducao/WSVN 7News
“It spreads really easily,” Guzman told WSVN, describing why crews train specifically for fires on the water. “We are trained in ways of combatting that,” he added.
The $1 million catamaran named Promiscuous
The boat was a 58-foot Leopard catamaran built by Robertson & Caine, with a six-cabin layout and a beam of 27 feet 8 inches. The seller had listed it for close to $1 million.
A 2024 refit topped $350,000, according to the yacht’s sale listing. New rigging, transmissions and an electrical overhaul all went in before Sunday’s fire tore through the hull.
Sea Tow steps in as the mast comes down
A Sea Tow crew pumped water out of the hull to keep the catamaran from sinking at the dock. By then, two burned cables had already cost the mast its structural strength.
“The adrenaline is always pumping,” said Sea Tow captain Jonathan LaPadula, according to CBS News Miami, describing the run to the scene. Crews later removed the mast before handing the wreck to insurers.
What the fire left inside the hull
Inside, the walls and ceiling turned black, insulation melted, and wiring hung exposed. Outside, meanwhile, the hull sat charred, with twisted metal and debris scattered across the deck.
A Fort Lauderdale firefighter douses hot spots inside the burned hull hours after the blaze. Foto: Reproducao/WSVN 7News, cortesia FLFR
Nearby boats got off easy. One vessel lost a piece of its mast to melted rigging, but firefighters kept the fire from reaching any other boat or the homes on shore.
The response added up to about 90 minutes on scene
Crews spent roughly 30 minutes bringing the bulk of the fire under control. Another 60 minutes went into chasing hot spots that kept smoldering inside the hull.
That’s about 90 minutes total, start to finish, a stretch this newsroom calculated from the two response times Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue gave reporters at the scene.
What happens next for the burned-out catamaran
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue’s investigation into the cause remains open. So far, the department hasn’t said whether the fire started with a mechanical fault, wiring or something else on board.
The gutted hull of the Promiscuous sits between undamaged boats at the Hendricks Isle marina the morning after the fire. Foto: Reproducao/WSVN 7News
The wreck goes to insurers next. Once the report closes, investigators will confirm what turned a routine Sunday morning at the marina into hours of firefighting.