Vessel was underway headed generally north in direction, vessel engine overheated, and caught fire. Vessel operator turned off engine and attempted to extinguish the fire using the water from the cooler. The fire was not extinguished, and the operator entered the water due to smoke. Vessel operator pull the vessel plug while in the water and attempt to submerge the engine to extinguish the fire. The operator was picked up by a Jet Ski and taken to shore, the vessel continued to drift with the wind generally to the west until it was beached on the riverbank.  
On June 2, 2023, while on uniformed water patrol in the St. Johns River in my mark patrol vessel with FWC Officer, At approximately 5:30 PM I received a call from dispatch reference clay county sheriff’s office land unit having a single individual at knight’s boat ramp involved in a boating accident that had been pulled from the water and taken to the boat ramp. I made my way to the boat ramp using lights and sirens. 
Upon arrival at the boat ramp, and made contact with OP1, I asked OP1 if he was injured and did he need EMS and he said no, I asked OP1 if anyone else was involved in the accident, any other boats involved in the accident, and if there was any possibly of anyone in the water? OP1 stated that he was the only one in the boat and that the vessel engine caught fire, so he poured his cooler water on the engine fire and that he said he could not stay in the boat due to the smoke after poring the water on the fire so he jumped out of the vessel and pulled the plug while in the water to submerge the engine to put a fire out. Then stated he was picked up by a Jet Ski, and taken to the boat ramp by a boat, and that the vessel was still adrift in the river. 
I asked OP1, where was the last location of the vessel, he volunteered to show us. He guided us south on the St. Johns River approximately 3/4 of a mile south of Black Creek where we found the vessel run aground next to a dock. The vessel was aground in approximately 2 to 3 feet of water. OP1 pulled the vessel away from the dock and anchored the vessel with his anchor and line, which was not sufficient due to the strong winds, so I took the anchor off of my vessel, to keep the boat in place and not damage the surrounding docks. The vessel had signs of a small fire in the engine compartment and looked as if the engine compartment had been partially submerged, there was no other signs damage to the vessel, I took OP1 back to Knights boat ramp where the vessel owner was waiting to pick him up. The vessel was removed from the water on Saturday. 

ST JOHNS RIVER
GREEN COVE SPRINGS            