Two people were sent to the hospital with minor injuries Sunday after the boat they were on caught fire on Lake Lanier. At 12:33 p.m., Hall County 911 dispatched firefighters and medics to the fire at Lanier Islands Parkway in Buford.
“Upon arrival, the boat was fully engulfed, emitting black smoke in the no wake zone near dock M,” says Hall County Fire Rescue Public Information Officer Kimberlie Ledsinger. “The vessel was approximately 100 feet from the shore when Hall County Fire Rescue arrived.”
The injured boaters were among three onboard the vessel when it caught fire. All of them made it onto another vessel before the burning boat was engulfed in flames.
Hall County’s Marine 1 unit used a floating pump to extinguish the bulk of the fire by 1 p.m., allowing the boat to be moved closer to shore. Hall County EMS transported the injured boaters to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville for treatment.
The cause of the incident is unknown at this time and will be investigated by the Fire Marshal’s Office, says Ledsinger.
This is at least the fifth boat to burn on Lanier since May of last year. Fire destroyed three boats docked at Sunrise Cove Marina in south Hall County on July 11. Investigators were unable to determine the cause of that fire.
