A three-story boat called “The Grand Romance,” docked on the Napa River in Vallejo, caught on fire Saturday, resulting in its partial sinking and prompting a few people who had been living onboard to jump into the water to escape.

The formerly famous boat, a replica 19th century paddle-wheel riverboat that had been evicted from Long Beach around 2018, had fallen into disrepair in recent years, as the Vallejo Sun reported.

On Saturday, plumes of smoke began to rise from the boat, which was anchored near Derr and Lemon Street in Carquinez Bay, about 2 miles north of the Carquinez Bridge, according to the Mercury News. The Vallejo Fire Department reportedly responded around 4:45 p.m., when they found that four people had been living onboard.

The Vallejo Fire Department said on social media that there were four people aboard when the blaze started, and that two self-rescued, while the other two received aid from nearby “good Samaritans” to escape before officials arrived. No injuries were reported.

Video footage on X, formerly known as Twitter, shows the flames.

It’s not the first strange incident that the boat has seen, though. The boat, originally named the Petaluma Queen, was constructed in 1993 in Fort Bragg and features a grand ballroom with a red velvet stage, marble dance floor, polished brass fittings, and stamped tin ceilings, initially was used for dinner cruises in downtown Petaluma under the ownership of Bill Barker, per the Mercury News.

It was reportedly renamed the Grand Romance after an apparently unsuccessful attempt to convert it into a riverboat gambling parlor, and in 2001, was relocated to Long Beach where it hosted various paid events, including murder mystery cruises and toga parties — until Long Beach authorities revoked its permit due to multiple health and safety concerns.

Barker had grand ambitions to fix it up for dinner cruises in Vallejo once again, according to the Vallejo Sun, they were apparently put on hold by the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020, and again more recently by California Air Resources Board’s requirements about its diesel engine. He told the Vallejo Sun that he had bought a new engine and had a caretaker living on-board, but was seemingly surprised by the news that there were four residents.

Now, its first floor is reportedly largely underwater, and fire has gutted the interior, so those plans might take even longer.

Related: Boat Explodes and Sinks In Waters Off Sausalito, Occupant Injured

Feature image via Vallejo Fire Department on X aka Twitter.

A man who allegedly attempted to burn a boat was arrested this morning, after police fished him from the water as he attempted to escape.

The San Francisco Police Department says that the suspect, a 41-year-old man, was pulled from the waters near Yacht Road, which on the waterfront in the Marina District.

Police say that at around 1:26 a.m. Monday, he lit a boat moored in the area on fire, "then jumped in water to flee scene."

His flight was unsuccessful, as he was still there when police arrived. According to the SFPD, the suspect "was removed from the water and arrested."

Related: Unknown Cyclist Sets Fire To San Francisco Porta-Potty

A man is dead after his boat slammed into a Mission Bay Pier early Wednesday morning, reportedly the victim of a throttle mishap.

According to KCBS, a distress call was made from the area of Pier 52 at 6:13 this morning. When San Francisco Fire crews responded, they learned that a boater had struck the pier, possibly with fatal results.

SFFD spokesperson Mindy Talmadge tells SF Weekly and the Chron that a witness saw the boat's driver "slumped over the steering wheel" before the boat struck the pier, which is one of San Francisco's only public boat launches. KCBS reports, however, that "the boater was trying to motor up to the pier but accidentally hit the throttle slamming the 18-foot boat into the abandoned pier and then spun out of control."

Talmadge told the Chron that the boat in question was a "make-shift plywood vessel," but witnesses tell KCBS that it was actually a vintage, 1959 Dorsett, piloted by "a longtime boater, who liked having big engines in his boats, but didn’t have a kill-switch aboard."

Regardless of those details, by the time SFFD had arrived, all that remained was floating debris and the body of the boat's driver, floating in the water.

By 7:30, the man's body had been retrieved. No one else was injured in the wreck, and San Francisco's Medical Examiner is now working to determine the cause of the boater's death.

Four commercial fishermen were rescued today after their 35-foot commercial fishing boat, christened "Reward," capsized 50 yards off of Pier 45 today. Fortunately, as a response boat from the Coast Guard Station was performing "training evolutions" in the Bay, they noticed the boat sinking, went into action, and rescued the four fishermen. No injuries were sustains.

However, the boat, carrying a possible 300 gallons of diesel fuel, is currently submerged under the Bay. Check it:

The vessel is currently submerged beneath the water, and carries a maximum of 300 gallons of diesel fuel onboard. The Coast Guard will continue to assess the surrounding water for pollution, and take any steps necessary for cleanup. Coast Guard personnel, and divers from the San Francisco Police Department, were able to move the vessel to the edge of the channel to allow continued use of the waterway.

As of now, the reason for the vessel's sinking is unknown. A 100-yard safety zone has been established around the submerged boat. Just how long it will take for the boat to be removed is also unknown. Stay tuned, folks.

Although he is "believed to be a good swimmer," 32-year-old Eric Wright's rescue search has now turned into a body recovery effort according to CBS 5. The Tracy resident was reported missing after Wright's father-in-law discovered his boat capsized this past Sunday in the Bethany Reservoir in Alameda County.

Sheriff's deputies, park rangers, and CHP helicopters will still conduct "periodic checks for Wright on the shoreline and surrounding areas" along the the Bethany Reservoir State Recreation Area, but prospects for a live body look grim.

Wright's image from CBS 5.