A small island on Lower Stillwater Lake near Olney caught fire from a smoldering campfire on July 23 and the eventual response included private boat owners.

Several residents on the lake aided in dousing the fire and ferrying firefighters to the island.   

Jim Buckley was boating with Bruce Schelling when they first noticed the blaze.  

“It looked like it had been smoldering there for a while. We emptied out our food and drink coolers and used them as buckets until the fire department was transported to the scene,” Buckley said.  

Two other longtime Olney residents on a separate pontoon boat assisted in the amphibious landing.  

By then, Buckley said, “We had made a lot of progress. That little island could have been gone without me and [Schelling].” 

The Olney Fire Department expressed gratitude to first responders and boat owners for their assistance and reminded people to extinguish campfires responsibly.   

It's not Buckley's or Schelling's first time playing a role in emergencies on the lake. According to Buckley, both he and Schelling assisted in saving four people who fell through the ice on Lower Stillwater Lake on April 12, 2023.

“[Schelling] and I were ice fishing when some people showed up with sleds and fell through. We jumped in the water to save them and also went to shore to retrieve a kayak to help,” Buckley said.