On 8/1/2009 at approximately 1730 hrs I was on routine boat patrol on Summit Lake when dispatch advised of a boat fire and explosion with people in the water at the west end of the lake.  I responded to the area and located the personal watercraft ata  dock and he dire department trating two victims for minor burn injuries and shock.

I spoke with wit1 who is the father of the operator and passenger.  He told me that he was the dock helping his daughters undock the PWC for a ride on the lake.  He said that the PWC was having trouble starting and his daughter P1 had to keep restarting the machine when lost power.  He said that the PWC was approximately 15-20 feet off the end of the dock when P1 was attempting to restart the machine and put it into reverse when the PWC exploded and ejected both his daughters into the water.  He said that he and neighbors put the fire out and rescued his daughters and transported them to shore and called 911.

The PWC was brought back to the dock by neighbors.  I inspected the PWC and found that the hull of the PWC was cracked and the front of the unit was blown off the seat was also missing from the machine.  I took photos of the damage. Witness 1 told me that the PWC was brand new that his father inlaw had just purchased it.  He also said the when the PWC exploded flames and fire came out from under the seat.  The water craft flew up into the air and landed back into the water on fire. 

The ator P1 had the required boater education card to operate the PWC.
Olympia                       