SYRACUSE – Indiana conservation officers are investigating a boat fire that occurred Saturday and injured two passengers.
Kosciusko County Dispatch received a 911 call at about 2:55 p.m. Saturday for a boat fire with injuries near the Wawasee Boat Company on Lake Wawasee, according to a news release Sunday afternoon from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
Preliminary investigations reveal that a Cabin Cruiser with two inboard engines caught fire when the owner attempted to start the vessel after fueling it. The owner advised he did vent the watercraft with blowers prior to engaging the engine, the release states.
The Syracuse Fire Department was able to quickly contain the fire to the watercraft before it subsequently sank.
The eight occupants, including the operator, were able to make it safely onto shore. Two female passengers were transported to Fort Wayne Lutheran Burn Center for treatment for second-degree burns.
No names of the people involved in the fire were released by the IDNR.
Conservation officers remind boat operators to run bilge blowers before starting inboard engines for the entire time recommended by the boat manufacturer prior to starting the engines. All non-open type vessels built after 1980 that run on gasoline are required to have functional bilge blowers according to the United States Coast Guard requirements, the news release states.
Units assisting Indiana conservation officers at the scene include Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office, Syracuse Police Department, Syracuse Fire Department and Syracuse EMS.
