Perry's Pride III The 35-foot lobster boat, Perry's Pride III, caught fire and sank near Pumpkin Island, Maine on July 5. One person was rescued from the water, and a boat crew from Station Boothbay Harbor took him to St. Andrews Hospital. (Photo CPT Chuck Chavtur)

The Coast Guard and area lobster fishermen helped rescue a 50-year-old man after his lobster boat caught fire near Pumpkin Island off Boothbay Harbor around 9 a.m. Saturday, July 5.

Coast Guard Station Boothbay Harbor received a radio call from the fishing vessel, Foxy Lady, reporting that the 35-foot lobster boat, Perry's Pride III, had caught on fire.

The 25-foot and 47-foot boat crews from Station Boothbay Harbor responded to the call. When the crews arrived on the scene, the fishing vessel, Victoria Secret, had recovered the man, Greg Larson of South Bristol, from the water.

"We were hauling around Pumpkin and noticed him steaming down by to the east of us," said Mike Lewis of East Boothbay, owner of Victoria Secret. "He had a little trail of smoke coming out of his exhaust but nothing alarming. A short time after we noticed, a lot more thick, black smoke was coming off the boat, so we just stopped hauling and headed towards him. He was maybe a mile to the southeast of us. As we got closer, all we could think was `I hope they got off.' At about 50 yards, we could see him in the water, holding onto the stern of his boat. We got up to him and I threw him a rope and just pulled him over the side.

"Vicki (Mike's wife) let the Coast Guard know we had him on board and that he was OK, just a bit shaken up."

Lewis said that Larson had been able to get his survival suit on and that he had tried to use two fire extinguishers to put out the fire, but they couldn't put out the fire. Larson also told Lewis that Larson told him that he didn't even have time to get a mayday call off.

"He was lucky that the fog was not thick, like it has been, or nobody would have seen him," said Lewis.

Larson was transferred to a Coast Guard boat and taken to St. Andrews Hospital. He was treated there and later released.

The lobster boat sank in approximately 108-feet of water and is not believed to be a hazard at this time. There were no reports of pollution.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

"We are grateful for the local fishermen who helped rescue this man," said Paul Connor, a search and rescue controller for Coast Guard Sector Northern New England. "It's a true example of how mariners in this community come together to help others in trouble."

The newspaper tried to contact Larson before deadline but was unable to reach him by telephone.