I have had two fires on Model Steam Boats;
The first one was a boat I built in High School back in the 1960s. I had built everything in the school shops except for the safety valve, which the instructor insisted I buy. I should have made my own, because we think that that was the part that failed The model was in the middle of a small bay at a friends cottage, when the safety valve lifted and then there was a bang. With the bang flames started appearing, and my buddy started spraying it with water from his model fireboat. My model started to get lower in the water and I suggested he push it ashore instead of filling it with water. Well it sunk before it made shore and was never found even with the help of scuba gear.
The second fire was about 15 years back, my model Launch had weeds tangle its prop. One of the other boaters tried pushing it back to dock. When the models were about twenty feet from shore we noticed that there was a flame coming from the side of the gas burner as well as the front where it should have been. While this was happening all the other Modellers had gathered around, when the models approached the end of the launching dock I went out to retrieve it. I bent down to look at the model to decide whether I could just shut off the gas supply or whether I would have to push the model under if the flame was heating the gas tank. Fortunatly I only had to shut the gas supply off and use a wet cloth to smother the woodwork that was scorched. I then took a deep breath and straightened up and looked around. Where a few minute earlier there had been a crowed of modelers watching, I was alone on the dock with no-one within twenty feet of me, even the modeler who's boat had been pushing mine ashore was twenty feet back. Since then all my gas powered model steam powered boats will have a remote shut off valve.
Gerald.