A Long Island couple awoke to find their houseboat on fire Monday and were able to escape before the vessel sank, authorities say.
The man and woman, both 64, were sleeping in their houseboat on Matinecock Avenue in Port Washington when they awoke to smoke and flames in the bedroom at about 2 a.m., police said.
They quickly got off the boat and called 911. The heavily damaged houseboat eventually sank into the water.
A second houseboat suffered heavy damage and four other boats suffered varying degrees of damage, police said.
The couple from the first boat, along with two men ages 71 and 49 from the second boat, were taken to a local hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, police said. They are expected to be OK.
Authorities are looking into a cause of the fire, and will examine the houseboat when it is raised.
