_{PHOTO: Newton Fire Department. Heights Archive photo}

_{The following story first appeared on The Heights, an independent, nonprofit newspaper run by Boston College students, with which the Newton Beacon has formed a partnership. Stories produced by The Heights have been written and edited by The Heights.}

A docked boat caught fire at the Newton Yacht Club on Thursday. 

The fire engulfed the boat and charred parts of the dock, creating smoke visible over the Massachusetts Turnpike, according to 7 News WHDH. There were no reported injuries.  

Boston College crew was finishing up practice on the Charles River at the time of the fire.

“We were coming back from the end of our practice, and we were facing away from the smoke, but the coaches could see the smoke,” team member Ella Davis said. “We could smell it before we could see it, and then we turned to go back into our dock, and that’s when we could see the smoke and we were like, ‘Whoa.’”

One BC coach attempted to get closer to the smoke while on a motorboat to figure out what was going on, according to Davis. 

“One of the coach’s boats got a little bit close, but not anywhere near the fire,” Davis said. “You could hear the firefighters, and you could kinda see the lights through the trees, but it’s kind of shielded by the smoke and stuff.”

7 News reported that the fire was put out around 12:30 p.m., but officials with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection remained on the scene to deal with any remaining fuel from the boat.

The Newton Fire Department has not yet announced the cause of the fire.