Local man sharesexplosion experience
Monique Merrill / The Chronicle
Chris Ostling survived a boat explosion at the St. Helens Marina on Sunday, Oct. 25. He lost his pet cat Joss, and most of his possessions, but said the community response has been overwhelmingly positive. Photo courtesy of Columbia River Fire & Rescue
A propane heater is suspected to be the cause of the boat explosion at the St. Helens Marina on Sunday night, Oct. 25. Chris Ousting was aboard and injured and his cat was killed in the blast.
Originally published in The Chronicle Vol. 138 November 4, 2020 MONIQUE MERRILL chronicle2@countrymedia.net
Chris Ostling is lucky to be alive, and he’s well aware of it. Ostling survived the explosion of the boat he lived aboard at the St. Helens Marina, and said he is grateful for the support he’s received from the community. The explosion occurred late Sunday evening, Oct. 25, and was triggered by a mishap with a marine-grade propane heater kept aboard. “Honestly I should be in little pieces scattered around the river as fish bait,” he said. “Miracles do happen.” Ostling had lit his propane heater, which draws
fresh air from outside, and turned away for a few minutes. He said he started to hear strange noises from the area and when he returned he saw flames. He knelt down, his face inches away from the heater, and twisted the knob to turn it off but it let oxygen in instead. Then, it exploded. “Basically I turned the knob and I saw a tongue of flame come at my face and I closed my eyes,” he said. The blast knocked him back only about six inches, but he said the moments that followed were silent, as though he had been sucked into a vacuum. He felt the blast and fireball wave past him. “The boat just seemed to be racing away from me in all directions but down,” he said. “It was absolutely silent. It was just surreal.” Shortly after the initial shock, Ostling heard his
cat Joss crying and made his way toward her, moving a large piece of roofing to find her. “She did die in my arms, and that’s a good thing,” he said about being able to find and hold her. Most of his possessions were lost in the explosion, and the boat itself isn’t salvageable either. Ostling, though, was able to walk away alive, and for that he is grateful. “I’ve been through so many near death experiences, and this was the top,” he said. “There’s something watching out after me.” Considering the circumstances, Ostling said he is doing “absolutely wonderfully.” He credits his long beard for protecting him from serious face and chest injuries. The beard, and some of his long hair, were burned in the explosion.
His hands sustained second degree burns, except for the fingers he uses to play the guitar with, he noted. Ostling is a blues and rock musician. His acoustic guitar also managed to come out of the wreckage relatively unscathed, he said. It needs some repairs along the neck, but he thinks it can be saved. “I’m not going to be playing this Sunday,” he said. “But the next one? Most likely.” It was within the network of musicians he jams with at the marina clubhouse that Ostling found support following the accident, specifically in Christina Timms and Sam Biegle. Timms organized a Facebook donation page for Ostling, which had received over $1,500 from people in the area as of Friday. The flood of support
has come in the form of monetary donations, clothing, food and even offers for boats he can stay in. He said that he has been recognized while walking around town and people have stopped him to donate money or offer support. “I’ve honestly never felt so loved in my life,” he said. Right now Ostling said it sounds like he may be able to move into his neighbor’s boat after his neighbor upgrades to a newer one. He has been staying with two friends out in the Warren area since the accident and said he is happy he can stay in his slip on the river he loves. “I have to say that I’m absolutely overwhelmed. I’m just so grateful to this community,” he said. “As long as the community will have me here and put up with me, I’ll stay.”