MI Boat Fire Injures Two Occupants

Aug. 31--Two persons were hospitalized for injuries they suffered in a fire that erupted on a 21-foot fiberglass boat that carried five passengers in Lake Erie's Brest Bay Friday afternoon.

Frenchtown Township firefighters were called to the water rescue about 2:30 p.m. at the Brest Bay Marina off Brest Rd.

According to Lt. Joe Smigielski, a 60-year-old man was treated for burns to his body and taken to Beaumont Hospital in Trenton by Monroe Community Ambulance.

A 54-year-old woman also was treated for "medical issues" and taken to the hospital also, Smigielski said.

"It was hard to say if the injuries were life-threatening," he said Friday night. "When we arrived, they had already been picked up by another boat and taken to the docks where we treated them."

While some of the firefighter paramedics were treating the injured, other firefighters took their 20-foot Marine 1 water rescue boat to extinguish the fire on the burning boat.

Five persons were rescued from the boat, including another adult and two teenagers who were not injured, he said.

Firefighters were on the scene about two hours, he said. Also assisting with the rescue were the U.S. Coast Guard, Monroe County Sheriff's Department and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Tom Tokarz, who lives across Stoney Creek from the marina, took photos of the burning vessel.

He said he could see rescuers giving first aid to the injured persons on the boat before they were brought to shore.

He was told by a neighbor that there was an explosion, but that could not be confirmed by firefighters.

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