The Broward Marine, Inc. facility was located in the incorporated city limits of
Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The company originally built P.T. boats, minesweepers and sub tenders for the U.S. military; at the time of the fire it produced aluminum hull lux -
ury yachts. Repair and docking services were also provided; approximately 30 yachts,
over 100 feet in length, were stored on the property in docks that ran along the west and
north perimeters of the property. Most of the buildings at the site dated back to the
1930's, although some updating and minor new construction had occurred over the
years. Railway lines ran through the property, with tracks laid through Building A and
Building B from north to south.
The largest building on the site was the manufacturing building (Building A),
which abutted the canal directly to the west. Adjoining Building A were the one story
assembly building (Building B) and the two story office building (Building C). A 30
foot tall dust collector was located directly to the east, in close proximity to the main
electrical supply for the complex and a building housing restrooms and the electric
winch for the boat launch. (See Figure 1) The one story, 90 by140 ft woodworking shop
and the 70 by 80 ft two story machine shop were situated to the east of the dust collec -
tor. The woodworking and machine shops incurred minimal damage as a result of the
fire.
Several smaller wooden buildings were located around the site, including a sales
office, storage buildings and paint and repair shops. A small wooden building used for
the storage of flammable liquids was located on the far east end of the site, removed
from the fire area.
Covered boat slips, a boat launch and a boatlift were located towards the north
end of the property. Located around the property were dumpsters, storage sheds and fuel
pumps, in addition to aluminum boat hulls in various stages of construction.
The main entrance to the site was located on Southwest 20th Street via a drive -
way that passed by the security shack. The driveway continued north through the prop -
erty to the main entrance of the office building. A parking lot was situated to the east of
the main entrance within the property's fenced perimeter.
The plant employed approximately 200 people who worked during the day.
There was a security guard on duty during off hours. The plant was not in operation at
the time of the fire; the one security guard on duty was posted at the guard shack.
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