burned last night as neighbours gathered and its distressed owner, acting Assistant Justice Justin Williams watched helplessly.

The 40-foot cabin cruiser, docked at Queen?s Cove in Fairylands, reportedly caught fire around 6.38 p.m. last night. It was still smouldering at 9 p.m., and not pronounced completely out until 9.10 p.m.

Witnesses said the fire started slowly but quickly escalated out of control, with many recounting their surprise at the height of the flames and recalling the sound of windows and fibreglass popping.

The boat was still ablaze when arrived on the scene.

The Fire Department received eight calls from people in the area watching the blaze and the thick black smoke.

A truck was on the scene within seven minutes of the first call, with the four firefighters using a combination of water and a special type of foam to extinguish the blaze.

?It was a very difficult fire,? Fire spokesman Lt. Dana Lovell said last night. Firefighters were still on the scene by Press time last night investigating the cause of the blaze.