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Contact: Deborah Turcotte, Spokesperson
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
284 State Street
41 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333

Telephone: work (207) 287-6008 cell (207) 592-1164

Fax: (207) 287-6395

June 9, 2008

Man Suffers Burns From Boat Engine Fire

Raymond – A 28-year-old Gray man suffered burns to his chin when he tried to start an inboard motor on his 1977 ski boat on Sunday, June 8, and it caught fire.

Brad Shelley was treated on the scene by Raymond Fire and Rescue for burns to his chin, and did not seek additional medical attention, according to Maine Warden Service Game Warden Neal Wykes.

The incident occurred at approximately 1 p.m. at a family camp on Frog Island on Little Sebago Lake, where the boat was docked. The day before, Mr. Shelley said he had cleaned the fuel filter on the inboard engine of his 1977 ski boat, and apparently some fuel spilled into the engine and the bilge water, according to Warden Wykes.

“Most inboard engines have a fan that is used to vent gas vapors,” said Warden Wykes. “He said he ran it for about 15 seconds before he started the engine. Being as hot as it was at 1 o’clock on Sunday, he went to start the engine and it caused a spark that ignited the spilled fuel. The fan should have run for a minimum of five minutes beforehand given those conditions.”

The spark caused a fire ball that blew off the engine cover, hitting Mr. Shelley in the chin, and knocking him overboard, according to Warden Wykes.

“There was so much gas in the bilge water that when his father came out, gas was still on fire on top of it,” Wykes said. “The fire ripped apart the engine cover and part of the floor boards.”

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