Boat destroyed by fire at Townsville's Breakwater Marina

Witnesses have described hearing bomb-like explosions when multiple boats caught fire at Townsville's Breakwater Marina.

Queensland Fire crews were called just after 1:00pm following reports that a boat measuring 10–12 metres was well alight.

It is understood the upper deck burnt down to the lower deck causing the boat to sink.

Two other vessels sustained fire damage while another was affected by heat. 

Station officer Scott Marsh said firefighters spent an hour trying to extinguish the blaze.

"With these incidents, all we can do is put water on it until the vessel eventually sinks," he said.

Queensland Police, Coast Guard, and Queensland Ambulance attended the scene.

Onlookers were urged to avoid the area and those nearby were asked to close their doors and windows due to concerns about potentially toxic smoke.

Paramedics assessed two people at the scene, who were believed to have gotten off the boat before it was engulfed in flames.

Peter Craig was just 25m away on his boat when he heard a large explosion.

"The young bloke said 'What was that? Was it a bomb or something?' so we went upstairs and all of a sudden there was another large explosion," he said.

"We raced over on the end of our jetty to have a look and the boat was well alight by then.

"It seemed to take forever for the fire brigade to get here but it was a hell of a mess. 

Herman Benningfield was sitting on the back of his boat when the vessel parked opposite him caught fire.

"The boat had just come in and the owners had put fuel in it," he said.

"I saw smoke and then the marina staff took action and started to get people off of the boat.

"A man was going to go back in — I think they really saved his life."

Investigations into the cause of the fire are continuing.