Husband and wife killed in Urbanna marina fire

March 03--A husband and wife were killed in Monday's massive fire at Dozier's Port Urbanna marina.

The couple -- identified by police as Frances Xavier Blantz, 75, and Julia J. Blantz, 65, both of Urbanna -- were staying on their 50-foot yacht while renovations were being completed on a home the two had purchased in town, according to Town Manager Holly Gailey. The two had lived in Urbanna for a little over a year, she said.

"It just tears at your heart strings," Gailey said Wednesday. "This just doesn't happen in Urbanna. It has just devastated our community."

The fire, which started around 4:30 a.m. Monday, destroyed 21 boats. It flattened the marina on Urbanna Creek, consuming piers, floating docks, a boathouse, storage facility and two cars in the parking lot.

The cause of the fire is still unknown, according to Virginia State Police Sgt. Michelle Anaya.

"The town's heart is broken," Emily Davises said Wednesday as she watched crews work to cleanup what is left of the destruction.

Two people were killed after an early morning fire severely damaged Dozier Yachting Center Marina in Urbanna on Monday, February 29,2016. Petty Officer 3rd Class Joshua Canup, spokesman for the Coast Guard, said the two people lived aboard vessels in the marina. The fire, which started about 4:30 a.m., damaged 50 boats, said Major M.E. Sampson with Middlesex County Sheriff's Office.

"We have not just lost boats. We lost two lives and we lost a lifestyle," Davises said.

The fire destroyed a 42-foot wooden power boat that had been in Davises' family since 1959. The boat, she said, was originally built in 1936 as a Virginia marine police vessel.

It was one of three similar boats built that year, she said, and has been a part of their daily lives since her family purchased it.

He brother, Carroll Davises, has walked down to the marina each day for the last 40 years to check on "The Colonel," as it was named. He is devastated, she said.

Sterling Williams lost his family's 26-foot cabin cruiser in the fire. Williams helped his father, an avid boater and sailboat racer, build the mahogany vessel in 1959, when he was 12 years old. It took three years to complete, he said.

"She was a beauty," Williams said as he stood with Davises at the marina Wednesday morning.

Williams, who splits his time between Urbanna and Winchester, said the marina has been "the heart of the yachting world around here" for over 50 years.

Ned Dozier with Dozier Marine Group, the owners of the marina, said the fire Monday destroyed what was known as B-section that encompassed 50 boat slips with a clubhouse at the end. All were lost. The marina's A-section was not damaged.

Fortunately, he said, this time of year the slips were not full as they would be in the spring or summer months. Dozier said the company plans to rebuild.

Crews with the Coast Guard and Clean Harbors Environmental out of Lanexa worked Wednesday to continue to contain the area of the creek affected and pull debris from the water.

David Ventker, an attorney representing Dozier Marine Group, said Wednesday that their first priority is limited any environmental effects to the creek. He said they will then move on to the insurance claims process.

The cleanup process alone could take a month, Gailey said. She got a closer view of the damage on Wednesday and described it as "surreal."

"I know it's been said and I wish I had a better word but it is very surreal," she said. "I don't know how you recover from something like this."

The marina and boating are a big part of the economy in the Town of Urbanna. Dozier's is one of three marinas in the heart of downtown behind town offices and Urbanna Baptist Church. It can be seen from the bridge that enters the small town.

"We are a port town," Gailey said. "What draws people here is the access to the water."

Boaters from all over stop in Urbanna, park at the marinas, dine at the restaurants and shop at the grocery store or retail shops.

Just this year, Gailey said, a boating fuel access is once again available on the creek at Bridge's marina next to Dozier's. Gailey said an advertising campaign has been planned to market the marinas and the new fuel access to bring in more visitors.

During the town's annual oyster festival in November, slips at each of the marinas are always full, Gailey said, and booked well in advance.

"It's hard to put a number on it but it will hit us on all levels," she said. "We are a very tight-knit community with a tight-knit boating community inside of that. We will pull together and find a way to rebuild."

Hubbard can be reached by phone at 757-298-5834.

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