The Saranac Lake Volunteer Rescue Squad assessed one camper for burns on his legs and state Department of Environmental Conservation forest rangers ticketed a group of campers for several fire and boat violations, including one for using gasoline to start the fire.

Goose Island, in the state-owned Forest Preserve, sits around 100 yards south of Duck Island in the southwestern area of Lower Saranac Lake and has one state campsite — Lower Saranac Lake campsite 27, on the northwest portion of the island.

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DEC spokesman Jeff Wernick said forest rangers issued two tickets to a 28-year-old responsible for starting the fire.

Wernick said this person, who was camping with two other people, used gasoline to start the fire in a fire ring.

“But the fire quickly burned outside the ring’s perimeter,” Wernick wrote in an email. “The three subjects left the island in their boat to avoid getting burned.”

Saranac Lake Volunteer Fire Department Chief Michael Knapp said firefighters responded to the fire report at around 8:20 p.m. with 10 members, one boat and two trucks.

Knapp said firefighters crossed paths with the three campers from the island while driving a boat in the channel connecting First Pond to the larger lake. He said the campers told them a fire in the fire pit got out of control and that one of them caught fire and jumped into the lake.

Firefighters returned with the campers to the Second Pond Boat Launch, where one man was evaluated by the SLVRS for burns to his legs. Knapp said he was not transported to the hospital.

When firefighters returned to the island, he said a significant portion of land was actively burning. The DEC estimated this as a 50-by-50-foot fire, or 2,500 square feet — around 4% of the 1.4-acre, 60,984 square-foot island. Knapp estimated the fire as a 50-by-200-foot fire, or 10,000 square feet — around one-fifth of the island.

Using water pumps and hand tools, firefighters battled the flames for around four hours and finished around 12:45 a.m.

Knapp said the hilly island terrain was difficult to navigate with rock ledges and underbrush. He said they were also met by two DEC forest rangers and made numerous trips from the launch to the island to transport members and supplies.

Forest rangers also issued tickets for not clearing three feet from the fire ring and not having enough personal flotation devices in a boat, according to Wernick. He said rangers brought the trio back to clean up their belongings and evicted them from the campground.

Knapp said the island is still usable, and in relatively good shape after the fire.

He gave advice to campers that even at a campsite with a fire place, to make sure that the area around the fire pit is clear of combustible materials.