‘He’s truly a hero’: Boaters, Jet Ski riders help rescue man from burning boat on Lake Hickory

HICKORY N.C. — Labor Day fun ended early for some after a boat fire on Lake Hickory Monday afternoon.

Channel 9′s Erika Jackson spoke with a neighbor who worried others could be in danger while it was burning.

Debbie Pysz and her husband Joe expected to see many boaters on the lake this Labor Day. However, the couple wasn’t expecting to see a boat fire from their balcony.

“It was just smoke,” Debbie said. “Then Jet Skis started circling, and they were trying to throw water and doing a fine job of it.”

Debbie told Jackson she saw flames and smoke emerging from the boat as it was inching toward 21st Avenue Northwest in Hickory.

“It kept drifting and drifting closer to the bank, and that was upsetting, because that’s a huge condo community up there and there’s a lot of dead wood right down at the waterline,” Debbie said.

The Hickory Fire Department says one person was on board when the fire started just before 4 p.m.

Nearby boaters rescued the man on board, according to firefighters.

The department says those good samaritans helped control the fire before first responders arrived.

“The one guy on the Jet Ski, he’s truly a hero, like he never gave up,” Debbie said. “He just pulled it and pulled it until he got it more out into the middle, and then it burst into flames a lot more.”

Hickory Fire believes a mechanical issue sparked the fire and says the man on the burning boat did not go to the hospital.

Pysz says she’s praying for his recovery.

“I guess the advantage was it’s a busy, busy weekend, but there were so many people around that they would have been pulled out of the water and find boats getting close,” Debbie said.

The Hickory Fire Department says this is a reminder to keep fire extinguishers and other safety devices handy when you’re on water.

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