“We were out riding and we saw the smoke. Me and my three friends drove out. I saw the captain of the burning boat getting off onto another fisherman’s boat. So that’s when I got real close and thought, let’s save the boat. I was ready. Let’s go. At first I was just focused on making big waves and splashing it down. If we would have waited, the boat would have sank. It took the coast guard 10-15 minutes to show up.” –David Peguero
Just recalling these quick thinking jet skiers off the coast of Cleveland who used their wake spray to extinguish a boat fire in Lake Erie. They were first on scene and repeatedly whipped past, splashing water in an effort to douse the flames.
“We’re so used to doing that, splashing each other I was like…hey it work?”
The Coast Guard showed up shortly there after. While the Coast Guard appreciated the efforts of the jet skiers, they wanted to be clear that no human lives were in danger at the time and discourage people from putting themselves in danger to save empty boats:
“The Coast Guard’s first priority is always to ensure the safety of all mariners. In this case the people who had been on the burning boat had already been removed from the vessel. So while we appreciate the Good Samaritans’ efforts, the Coast Guard definitely discourages people from putting themselves at great risk from a potential fuel explosion in hopes of preserving what remained of the boat.” –Chief Petty Officer John Masson
The incident was captured on Facebook Live.