Coast Guardsmen from the Menemsha station were the first on the scene to rescue three crewmen from a burning tugboat in Buzzards Bay early Friday morning.

“After we pulled the third crewman off, we were backing away when the boat exploded and flames shot up into the air,” coxswain William P. Robertson said yesterday.

The Menemsha Coast Guard received a call from the 120-foot tugboat Canal Deluge around 1 a.m. that there was a fire in the engine room. The Canal Deluge, which operates out of Bourne, was one of two tugs escorting a barge at the time.

The tug was in the middle of Buzzards Bay, south of Fairhaven and north of Quicks Hole. The weather was fair.

Menemsha Coast Guard senior chief Stephen Barr said the crew were awakened and were on their way in minutes on the station’s 47-foot rescue boat.

“As they were heading across Vineyard Sound to the boat, they were talking to the crew on marine radio,” Chief Barr said. “They had a hand-held radio.”

Once the Coast Guard rescue boat passed through Quicks Hole, they could easily spot the tugboat aflame.

“The boat was a big ball of fire,” the senior chief said. The Coast Guardsmen communicated with the tug crew by using a portable marine radio, as the electricity in the vessel no doubt had failed because of the fire.

The Coast Guard boat came right up to the bow of the tugboat and the crew members were taken off from the burning tug. All three were unharmed.

“After we pulled the second person off the boat, the flames came shooting out of the pilot house windows,” Mr. Robertson said.

Just after the third crewman was rescued, the Coast Guard boat backed away and then there was a huge explosion.

“We got them in the nick of time,” Mr. Robertson said. “If we had been a minute too late, the tug would have exploded and we would have been right alongside.”

The effort included other Coast Guard resources, a helicopter and the Coast Guard cutter Hammerhead. The cutter provided a safety and security zone around the vessel while the fire was fought and extinguished.

Later in the day the charred tugboat was towed by the tug Miss Yvette to Kelly Marine Railway Facility in Fairhaven. The Coast Guard is investigating the fire.

The Menemsha crew of five involved in the rescue with Mr. Robertson were Andrew Chase, Andrew Leblanc, Rajeah Wilson and Derek Prendy.