Boat fire on Glen Lake rallies neighbors. Five boaters, one dog safe

From staff reports

Soon after Jason and Jennifer Mott Paupore, their children and dog embarked in their 2006 Galaxie Deck boat on Saturday, July 15—a quarter mile from their house on Big Glen Lake—for an early evening of tubing, they accelerated and heard a sudden bang and a pop from the boat’s engine.

The boat had been running fine since they began using it in early June. Jason estimated they had been out 5-10 times. He had just refueled it. Jason saw smoke and flames coming out of the engine. He used the fire extinguisher to attempt to put out the fire, but it didn’t help.

“We couldn’t stop the fire, so we hopped in the lake and let the boat burn,” Jason told the Glen Arbor Sun the following morning.

Their youngest two children, ages 12 and 9, were already riding in the innertube a safe distance of 40-50 feet behind the boat, and wearing life preservers. Their 15-year-old daughter in the boat was already wearing her life vest when the fire started. Jason and Jennifer quickly put theirs on before leaving the burning craft and hopping into water that was over their heads.

But their labrador named Pepper stayed in the boat, even though she is an adept swimmer and spends the entire summer in Glen Lake, said Jason, a 49-year-old attorney whose family lives primarily in Florida but has owned a second home on Big Glen since 2019.

“She didn’t follow us. We were calling to her. But for whatever reason she froze. She was in danger as the flames were growing.”

Conor McCahill, owner of On the Narrows Marina, happened to be boating with his family near the Paupores. Within minutes, he pulled up to the burning vessel, hopped on board and took Pepper onto his own boat, “like a hero running into a burning building,” said Jason.

Jason and Jennifer and their three children, all wearing life vests and floating in deep water, were quickly picked up by other boaters and jet skiers who all saw, and smelled, the unwelcome spectacle of a vessel in flames on the lake.

“There was no shortage of boaters coming by to see what happened, perhaps 10-15 boats,” said Jason. “Our boat was well on fire. I was concerned about the potential of an explosion.”

Also within minutes, the Glen Lake Fire Department and Leelanau County Sheriff’s Department were alerted and dispatched to the scene. The authorities ultimately extinguished the fire and towed the burning boat back to shore. Its entire hull was charred.

Jason remembers that his family ended up on multiple boats, including one piloted by employees from On the Narrows Marina, who offered them water and food, and a treat for Pepper, once they returned to shore.

“Fortunately, we never really felt like we were in danger,” said Jason. “A huge ‘thank you’ to the Glen Lake Fire Department, the sheriff’s office, the McCahills both for their work on the water and their hospitality when they got us back to shore, and to everybody on Glen Lake who came by and offered to help!

“The way it happened is just a reminder to everyone to make sure you have all your life vests and fire extinguisher ready.”

Glen Lake Fire Chief Bryan Ferguson, employees at the marina, and neighbors on Big Glen, couldn’t recall seeing a boat fire as dramatic as this one in recent history.