Today on Grapevine

So my girlfriend and I were out there most of the day... fishing was horrible but something odd happened... We were fishing up in twin coves along the point on the left side going in, I saw the Flower Mound FD boat go out today, no emergency just going out, I’m guessing just running the boat. They were out like 10-15 minutes. They come back in along the area we were fishing like 25’ off my port bow not on pad but almost on pad, creating a huge wake (not in the no wake zone) and we took many waves over the bow, almost fell in. All three of the crew are laughing and having a good time. Makes me wonder who taught these guys boat driving 101? Zero common courtesy

they flipped it a few years back...

They probably knew you were a cop.

Coast Guard came close to sinking my boat on Texoma once. I took several over the bow.

These things are a great example of when to use your iphone video recorder and send it to the local news channel, on FaceBook, and anywhere else you can post it for pubic viewing. I can guarantee the higher-ups won't like that type of exposure.

Did you say anything about it? 25' is breaking the law. Call it in? Bad look for them if it was intentional.

I would call their supervisor and file a complaint. No excuse especially laughing about it.

They take the boat out once a month. Several months ago they fired up the water guns. Only issue i had was they were still inside the no wake zone and they had no idea what they were doing. We had to move after getting sprayed with the over spray. Took them forever to figure out how to control the fire hose.

I run the Dallas Fire Dept fire boat on Hubbard. The lake is the responsibility of our station and crew. Which is crazy since we have a 12 mile response to the marina, but that is a whole other topic.

On my shift we spend a significant amount of time training. I preach about the wake our boat makes and the damage it can do, especially to those that are newer to our crew or do not have a ton of boating experience. Our current boat weighs around 8000 pounds and is 29 feet long. It throws a a pretty good wake. We have a new boat scheduled for delivery next month and it's the same length but 2-3000 pounds heavier, so it will create a even bigger wake, so I will again emphasize the necessity for caution when operating near other vessels.

What happened to you is inexcusable and is either a lack of training and understanding their equipment or just a careless crew disregarding any other people on the water.

If you are truly concerned or you're mad (I would be pissed!) I would definitely contact the fire department. It may be a training issue and they do not truly understand their equipment and the affect their wake can have and that it can cause damage. If the people above them in their chain of command don't know there is an issue, it cannot be addressed.

great info D. Have you ever considered offering training to all the fire-boats in the DFW area?

Grapevine FD actually has a really good boat program as well as Lewisville and the Colony. So I would think it would make more sense for them to "help" each other out just because of the proximity. We have actually taken our boat to Lake Grapevine and done some joint training with Grapevine FD in the past.

flower mound boat

I know that, not sure what you meant??

Breaking what law?

I am guessing it is the 25 foot law.

If you are seriously concerned about what happened, please contact our administration 972-874-6270. We have well trained crews that operate our boat and are well aware of boating laws on the lake.

Mike, you flipped your cry after you got a true response . Douglas, thank you for being a fireman .

will they tell the truth about the triple outboard being flipped in good weather?

Yes.First off it was not a triple outboard it was a dual outboard. This incident occurred almost ten years ago. The boat was a joint venture between FD and PD. At the time the incident occurred PD was operating the boat. The boat is now only operated from the FD.

Well, there you have it.

Now the Flo Mo Cops are limited to their cruisers and bicycles.

Good to know. The crews i seen run the boat. Do not appear to very skilled. Just my observations.

They did the same thing to me while I was fishing in my Hobie PA (kayak) this spring.

I was fairly deep in Twin Coves and they made a loop around me while they were nearly on pad... one of the guys looked directly at me and waved. I told them that they were "number one" and the guyed looked at me like I was the jerk in the situation. Idiots.