On 7/14/13 i, indiana conservation officer Was dispatched to a boat fire with injury at moores creek on monroe reservoir. Upon my arrival at the moores creek launch ramp i observed a boat tied to the shore that was completely destroyed by fire. The perry/clear creek fire dept. Was already on scene and had extinguished the fire. I spoke with fire personnel and they advised me that one subject, later identified as had already been transported to bloomington hospital with minor burns on his legs.
   i spoke with the operator of the boat, and asked him what had occurred. He advised me that they were launching the boat when the motor blew up and caught fire. Operator1 said that they had just gotten the boat off of the trailer when he heard an explosion in the rear of the boat and the boat caught fire. He attempted to put the fire out with a fire extinguisher but it did not extinguish the fire. Himself and four passengers in the boat jumped into the water and got on shore. Operator1 stated that the boat was owned by his brother in law but he had previously owned the boat. I asked operator1 if he knew of any problems with the boat and he said there were no problems that he knew of. I asked operator1 if he had turned the blower on to ventilate the engine compartment prior to starting the engine. He stated that he could not remember for sure, but he did not think that he had.
   i then spoke with the other four passengers in the boat and they all stated the same information that operator1 had told me.
   i also spoke with subject1 who had backed the boat into the water. He stated that he backed the boat into the water and unhooked it from the trailer. Subject1 said that when the boat was off the trailer he saw the explosion in the rear of the boat and saw the engine cover fly approximately 20 feet into the air.
   i looked over the boat, but the entire inside of the boat was completely destroyed by the fire. The boat was recovered from the lake by blands towing.
   later on i spoke with Operator1 and asked about the injuries. He advised that the victim had received 2nd degree burns on his legs and that he was recovering very well.
Bloomington