Special to the Herald
Seminole County Fire Department recently honored Two Good Samaritans and Seminole County Fire Department Crew who helped rescue a man when his boat overturned.
Mims resident, Bill Coe and Titusville resident Billy McClure were awarded a Seminole County Fire Department (SCFD) “Citizen Life Saving Award” for pulling a fisherman from the water whose boat flipped over.
The incident occurred on January 25, at 11:24 a.m. SCFD responded to the boater’s 911 call reporting an offshore drowning in the Lake Harney area near the Jolly Gator Fish Camp.
Strong winds (15-20 mph) that day capsized Dan Watson’s fishing boat as he was changing out his tackle bait. There were also frigid water temperatures in the 50’s.
Watson called 911 while he was in the water and SCFD Station 42 was dispatched, including Airboat 42 (nicknamed the Geneva Fire Falcon).
Watson was in a hypothermic state and in critical condition and spent some time in the ICU at HCA Hospital and fully recovered.
At the event, the Good Samaritans, the patient and the SCFD crew were reunited. The SCFD crew along with the Emergency Communications Dispatchers who were involved in the call will also receive a Life Saving Award.
