KINGSTON –  Smoke, which turned out to be the result of a generator problem, aboard the SoundRunner’s 65-foot Spirit of Kingston passenger ferry drew firefighters to the Port of Kingston early July 2.

Port Manager Kori Henry said they are awaiting clearance from the U.S. Coast Guard for whether they can run the Spirit, scheduled to take more than 100 passengers to Liberty Bay for Poulsbo’s 3rd of July fireworks show. Henry said they will know the day of.

North Kitsap Fire & Rescue crews were called to a boat fire at the Port of Kingston at 6:41 a.m. after crew members, preparing for the passenger ferry’s morning run, noticed smoke coming from an interior compartment near the bow, evacuated the vessel and called 911. Crews from NKF&R’s headquarters and its South Kingston Road stations responded initially. Because of the potential posed by a large boat fire, firefighters called for additional fire crews from the district’s Hansville and Suquamish stations. Upon their arrival and initial investigation, they saw no active fire or flames and canceled the extra resources.

Officials believe that the smoke was not the result of a fire but, instead, originated with a problem inside one of the vessel’s generators.

Although the Spirit of Kingston will be docked for about a week until the problem is corrected, passenger-only service from Kingston to Seattle continues aboard the Express, the port’s back-up vessel.

There were no injuries to firefighters or civilians.