A late-night fire lit up Vallejo’s waterfront after flames broke out on the upper deck of the beached, three-story riverboat known as the Grand Romance. The call came in just before midnight, and firefighters had the blaze under control in roughly an hour. No injuries were reported.
According to The Mercury News, the fire was concentrated on the boat’s third story. Vallejo Fire Department crews accessed the vessel to confirm no one was aboard while units worked from both shore and boats to knock down the visible flames. Officials said the cause was not immediately determined, and the department reported that the blaze was fully extinguished in about an hour.
Boat’s troubled past
The Grand Romance is a 130-foot, three-story paddlewheel replica that once hosted dinner cruises and mystery shows in Long Beach before its permit was revoked and the vessel was moved to Vallejo. SFGATE and other outlets have chronicled an earlier fire in 2023 and years of deterioration that left the boat partially submerged and at times occupied by caretakers. The owner has said he hoped to restore the vessel, but it has largely sat abandoned along the south Vallejo waterfront.
City seeks funding to clear derelict vessels
Vallejo has flagged the Grand Romance as a possible candidate for federal removal funding in a broader maritime revitalization strategy, according to a city consultant report. The City of Vallejo strategic plan recommends pursuing Congressional Community Project funding to remove abandoned and derelict vessels as part of a larger waterfront cleanup and redevelopment push.
City officials said investigators will dig into what sparked the latest blaze while staff coordinate with state and federal partners on removal or stabilization options, The Mercury News reports. For now, the scorched Grand Romance remains a high profile reminder of the hulks that line parts of Vallejo’s shore and the expensive, complicated work it will take to clear them.
