FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Fort Lauderdale City Commission honored three people for their heroic actions after a boat explosion back in December.
It happened on Dec. 23 at Lauderdale Marina located at 1900 SE 15th St.
Six people were injured and one person was killed in the explosion.
Scott Stempkowski decided to run towards the danger last month, just seconds after a boat exploded along a dockside fueling station.
“We heard a big boom and you had two choices, you either run away or run towards it,” he said.
Tamer Dimiati was right there with him.
“I turned from a server to like a part-time firefighter at that point,” Dimiati said.
Both men were working at the 15th Street Fisheries restaurant when the incident happened.
Moses Lopez was working on the very dock when the explosion occurred, narrowly escaping the danger.
“It was definitely way worse on the video than I thought,” Lopez said. “The only way I could’ve been closer was on (the boat).”
In one video, Lopez can be seen carrying away a burn victim and using a hose to extinguish the flames on one of the two burning boats.
Now the trio is being publicly recognized as heroes, each receiving the Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Good Samaritan Award on Wednesday night.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that their quick response saved lives, saved properties and truly made a difference that day so they deserve the recognition,” said Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Chief Stephen Gollan.
Said Stempkowski: “We appreciate the award and everything, but we did lose a guy, but we did the best we could with what we had.”
The men now dubbed heroes say the scene replays in their minds often.
“Sometimes you just have to really help others honestly, and it doesn’t even matter about yourself sometimes,” said Lopez. “In some scenarios people need you more than you understand.”