Tragedy struck a local family on the Fourth of July when a boat exploded on Lake Nottely, injuring seven people aboard. Thankfully, no one was killed, but two of the seven injured individuals received major burns, including a juvenile teenager.
Two passengers took life flights to Grady Burn Center in Atlanta; four went by ambulance to Union General Hospital, with one, the youngest of the injured, then being transported to Wellstar Cobb Medical Center Pediatric Burn Unit; and another was taken by car for local treatment.
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Blairsville resident Art Miller, who has owned the boat in question for two years with no issues and whose family and friends were using it that day, reported on Facebook Sunday that all but the two most seriously injured individuals had been discharged home following treatment.
As for the two patients who remained in medical care at press time, the worst injured was estimated to have received between 70%-80% burns covering his body. Miller said he was in critical but stable condition and would require multiple skin graft surgeries.
The other inpatient sustained an estimated 25%-35% burns but was up and walking around the Grady Burn Unit on Sunday.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to assist the Millers and their friends during this challenging time: https://gofund.me/808d0493.
The boat exploded around 3:20 p.m. Friday. Shortly before the explosion, the boat operator had pulled safely into Nottely Boat Club & Marina in Cozy Cove to re-fuel after tubing on the lake. Miller detailed on social media what happened next to the best of his knowledge.
After re-fueling, the boat operator idled away from the dock but saw some trash in the channel. He circled around and one of the kids in the boat grabbed the trash out of the water. Seconds later, the occupants heard a pop, and then the “catastrophic explosion” occurred.
Everyone immediately jumped into the water except for the boat operator and two teenagers, and the operator was able to grab the teens and physically throw them overboard, Miller said.
When the Union County Fire Department arrived, the flaming boat was drifting back toward the dock area due to the wake created by multiple private boats arriving to assist the people in the water, according to Fire Chief David Dyer.
Chief Dyer said that firefighters quickly established two commands, one to get the injured people out of the water for medical transport and treatment – their top priority – and another to handle the fully-involved boat and defend the dock.
Apparatus from nearby Fire Station 13 arrived first, followed by firefighters from Stations 1, 4 and 7. Union General EMS and two medical helicopters also responded, and the Union County Sheriff’s Office worked traffic near the scene at Angel Hart Lane and Nottely Dam Road.
Some of the burn victims were able to make it to shore, while others swam to a nearby private dock and needed to be pulled from the water. Dyer said it took about an hour from the time firefighters got there to when they were ready to leave the scene.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division is investigating the explosion since it took place on the lake. At this stage, authorities are unsure of what caused the boat to explode before burning up and sinking near the shoreline.
Addressing online speculation, Miller said the boat operator followed proper re-fueling procedures, and Dyer advised people not to speculate about the accident.
“There have been a lot of rumors about what could have been done and what happened and all that,” Dyer said. “But I think people need to wait until the investigation is done to know what happened, and not ‘Monday morning quarterback’ a lot of this stuff.”
As of Saturday afternoon, Dyer said he was unaware of any other emergencies involving injuries occurring over the Independence Day holiday, whether from fireworks, car wrecks or other incidents on the lake.
Chief Dyer has been a firefighter in Union County for over three decades and has never seen anything like this happen here: “We’ve had a couple of boat fires, but I’ve never had a boat explosion.”
“It could have been a lot worse,” Dyer said. “Somebody could have gotten killed, so they are fortunate to be alive. We’re fortunate that we didn’t have seven or eight people burn up bad, but it’s still bad business for these poor folks who did get a lot of burns.
“Technically, this is sort of a mass casualty incident for us; we had seven patients there, and possibly more, but nobody else was complaining of anything. It was a chaotic scene for a while. Our guys got there and took control over it.
“We had three or four ambulances there, were trying to coordinate helicopters coming in and where they were going to land. There was a storm coming in, too, so we were trying to get everybody arranged to get out of there.
“Burn patients are something that you don’t deal with on a daily basis trauma-wise, so that sends them to a different type of hospital and was another stressor added to the mix.
“I think everybody did well as far as our public safety folks. I know the family is very appreciative of it. It’s just a bad accident, and we were trying to make the best out of that situation.”
And while Miller has described July 4, 2025, as “the worst day of my life and for my entire family,” he is grateful for the local first response and thanks “everyone for the outpouring of love and support.”
“Thank you to all the amazing responders, Fire, EMS, Sheriff, DNR, and the ER staff at Union General,” Miller said. “And the folks in the boats and the residents of the house that everybody ended up at.
“I rarely ask for prayers, but we need them now more than ever. Thank you again for reaching out, and I’m sorry if I don’t get back to you immediately.”
Miller is a retired battalion chief from Palm Beach County Fire Rescue in Florida. He and his family have been longtime supporters of Union County Fire and other first responder agencies. Currently, he is in the process of becoming a volunteer firefighter.
