Cops: Boater leaps into water to escape fire

A boater whose vessel caught fire as it pulled away from the dock at Cedar Beach Marina in Babylon escaped injury Friday by jumping into the water, Suffolk County police said.

A police spokeswoman said the boat fire started at about 10:45 a.m. and the vessel then drifted away from the marina about 40 feet before the man jumped into the water.

It traveled another 10 feet or so before being stopped by an automatic anchor device, the spokeswoman said.

The Babylon Fire Department responded and needed about 45 minutes to extinguish the fire, police said.

Police said the cause of the fire is unknown but initially does not appear to be criminal in nature.