Marina Fire…Lifesavings Gone

Hello, my name is Dakota Teets and I am writing this on behalf of my grandfather Bill (William) Zwingelberg, and we appreciate you taking this time to read his story. My grandpa has been blindsided by the loss of his home due to a fire that occurred on January 31, 2024.

In 2022 my grandfather lost his wife, our loving mom and grandmother, after a tough battle with Parkinson’s. My grandfather became the sole caretaker of grandma towards the end and gave everything of himself to make sure she was the most comfortable and loved through it all.

After her passing, grandpa moved from South Dakota to Baltimore, Maryland to live on a boat with his best furry friend Ragnar, Rags for short. Grandpa and grandma used to own a boat and sail all over from Maine to the Bahamas in their younger years, and I think it was a way for him to reconnect with her while also being closer to his east coast family.

His boat, named Lakota, became his Maryland residence in 2023; grandpa poured his life savings into fixing the boat up and making it feel like any other house should: like a home.

On January 31st, 2024 I received news from local friends that a marina in downtown Baltimore had boats on fire and immediately thought the worst. Unfortunately that horrible thought became reality as we found out that grandpa’s boat had experienced an explosion (of unknown cause/origin) on deck, leading to a fire that consumed the entire boat.

Grandpa and Rags were below deck when the explosion occurred but thankfully were both unharmed and able to make it off the boat and towards safety before Lakota succumbed to her fire damage and sank. Luckily the neighboring boat was unoccupied during this winter month.

My grandfather has lost his home, clothes, favorite wine glasses; but most importantly his life savings, which went into the boat, and more than 50 years worth of memories in paintings, pictures and other belongings.

While grandpa will have plenty of family to stay with while logistics are figured out, he is going to need help funding the clean up of the boat fire which includes towing the boat (lifting it out of the water for removal) and environmental clean up of diesel fuels. There were also be expenses for damages done to the marina and potentially surrounding area.

As a family we understand that the world is full of unknowns and that not everyone is in a position to help, so for those that can we are so incredibly grateful; for those that cannot, we truly thank you for taking the time to read this and if you’re able to share that would be a huge help as well.

We would also like to thank all of the Emergency Responders, Police, MD DNR, EHS and countless other departments who responded to the scene and did so quickly, professionally and with incredible skill. A special thank you is deserved to Mayor Scott who coordinated relief through the American Red Cross and took time out of his busy day to come speak with us. We are fortunate for all of the support we have received and cannot thank you all enough.