Patrol crews keep eye on boaters at Smith Mountain Lake

Summer weekends are playtime for thousands of boats that call Smith Mountain Lake home.

Teens wakeboarding, children towed on inflatable rafts, and fishermen trolling for a catch all enjoy themselves under the watchful gaze of two public safety groups.

The Smith Mountain Lake Marine Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department is on hand to provide fast response in the case of an emergency, and conservation police officers from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries look for boating violations that endanger others.

“We want to be able to go home with nobody getting hurt out here,” said Greg Funkhouser, one of the game department’s officers. “You get out here and hold your breath and hope that the call doesn’t come over the radio that there has been a boating incident. The whole reason we are out here is public safety.”

Last weekend, the blue lights that mark the officers’ boats and the red lights of the fireboats stood out among the thousands of watercraft gathered to watch the annual fireworks display. Typically, it is the busiest night of the year for the two public safety entities, but this year it was uncommonly calm.

The only call for the fire department came at 10:30 p.m., for a woman found unresponsive on a private boat. But seven minutes into their response, firefighter Skip Decker and Deputy Chief David Scoggins were told they weren’t needed.

Usually, Decker said, patrolling the lake isn’t that easy, especially on a holiday night.

So far this year, there have been seven crashes on the lake, said Sgt. Bryan Young of the game department. Two of those involved injuries, none fatal.

At this point last year, 19 crashes already had occurred. Total for 2007, there were 33 boating incidents resulting in 19 injures and two deaths.

Young attributes the decrease to more people taking boating safety courses. Law enforcement and fire officials have been more visible during peak times, which Young said is also a key to reducing crashes.

The fire department has responded to 138 calls this year, but not all involve incidents on the lake, said Captain Al Bush, with the fire department.

Structure fires near the lake factor in, and the department also gives mutual aid to nine surrounding fire departments and seven rescue squads.

“Probably 40 percent of all calls, we work together,” said Fire Chief Jack Gautier.

Decker said depending on the circumstances, one department might have initial command of the scene, but that cooperation is crucial at every call.

“We couldn’t do everything that we do without them, and they couldn’t do everything they do without us,” Decker said.

Sometimes, as in the case of a swamped boat last Independence Day, the fire department controls the scene and DGIF officers serve an auxiliary role. The officers protected the boats from wakes while firefighters pumped water from the sinking boat.

Other times, the availability of boats and personnel dictates who responds initially. Gautier mentioned an early morning hit-and-run incident, with fire units responding initially because no conservation police officers were on the water.

“They actually had us go look for the guy, and we found him and waited on deputies to come and get him and arrest him,” Gautier said.

Even when there is no interaction with DGIF, Gautier said it’s a relief just to know that they’re available if needed.

“They’re great moral support,” he said, “just knowing that you’ve got them on the other side of the radio.”

For the conservation police officers, the firefighters are an extra set of hands and an extra pair of eyes on the water.

“We are so limited,” Funkhouser said. “We have a shortage of manpower. If we have an incident on the lake, a lot of times they can be first on the scene. … Compared to other areas, we have it made here as far as fire and rescue.

“We help them and they help us out regularly.”

Dave Scoggins looks out at Smith Mountain Lake on Saturday while patrolling the water.
JILL NANCE/THE NEWS & ADVANCE