Man killed in Dorchester boat fire

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

By Eric Moskowitz and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff, and Anne Baker and Casey Ramsdell, Globe Correspondents

A man was killed early this morning when a fire tore through a 36-foot wooden motorboat at the Dorchester Yacht Club.

The man has been identified as Melvin Conroy of Pembroke, said Steve MacDonald, a fire department spokesman. MacDonald said that members of the Yacht Club have told fire officials that Conroy was 64 years old and a retired Boston school teacher.

Firefighters rushed to the scene on Playstead Road at 12:42 a.m. after another boater called 911.

"When firefighters pulled up, they saw a large boat on fire with flames shooting in the air," said MacDonald. "The firefighters did a good job of confining the fire to just that boat."

The boat was one of the few old-fashioned wooden boats at the club and was called My Three Sons, MacDonald said.

Conroy, who had owned the 1963 Chris Craft boat for 25 years, had three sons, according to Danny Campbell, vice commodore for the Dorchester Yacht Club.

Conroy was active in the yacht club, and served as the regatta committee chairman and frequently put together social activities, according to the statement.

“Mel Conroy was the epitome of what the Dorchester Yacht Club stood for, enjoying the sea, the sun, and the outdoors with good friends and family,” the statement read.

The release also stated that Conroy was engaged to be married.

Club member Robert Welch said Conroy had been acting as a steward of the club, pumping gas, putting on coffee, and keeping the place clean.

“He was only doing it temporarily,” Welch said. “He was doing a favor.”

Investigators did a preliminary investigation shortly after the blaze but had to wait until daylight before beginning a more in-depth probe, MacDonald said.

"As in any fire investigation, it’s a process of elimination," MacDonald said.

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