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Yacht Catches Fire, Sinks In Patapsco River

SPARROWS POINT, Md. (WJZ) -- Baltimore County Fire Department units were dispatched Friday morning for what they say was a call for a 25-foot boat engulfed in flames in the Patapsco River near Sparrows Point.

The 911 call came in around 9:40 a.m.

By 11 a.m., the fire was out, according to department officials, but the boat had sunk.

Justin Bruzdzinski, an off-duty firefighter and EMT for Baltimore County who aided in the rescue of the men on the boat, says he was fishing when he noticed the vessel smoking.

"I thought it was just the diesel engines like you would normally see, then I smelled the smoke," he told WJZ. "And soon after heard the mayday call over the radio...I was just a few hundred yards from the boat and pulled my lines in and went to assist."

Bruzdzinski says there were two men on the boat, which was actually more like 50 feet long, who sustained only minor injuries.

At least one of the men was taken to an area hospital, according to Baltimore County Fire Department.

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