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Three individuals were recently commended for their valorous actions in the wake of a boat explosion in Fort Lauderdale. During a City Commission meeting, the trio received the Good Samaritan Award from Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue for their quick response to the December 23 disaster, as reported by Local10. The incident, which occurred at Lauderdale Marina, resulted in six injuries and one fatality.
Scott Stempkowski and Tamer Dimiati, both working at the adjacent 15th Street Fisheries restaurant when the explosion took place, chose to confront the emergency head-on. "We heard a big boom and you had two choices. You either run away or run towards it," Stempkowski recounted, according to an interview with NBC Miami. They, together with Moses Lopez, who was on the dock at the time of the explosion, sprang into action, attempting to manage the fire and assist those injured.
While Stempkowski and Dimiati worked to initiate a fire hose line before the arrival of firefighters, Lopez's presence of mind led him to carry away a burn victim from the inferno. “The only way I could’ve been closer was on (the boat).” Lopez said in a statement obtained by Local10. Chief Stephen Gollan of Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue praised their actions, asserting, “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.”
Lauding their bravery, the commission acknowledged how the actions of these ordinary men were extraordinary. Gollan emphasized this sentiment, saying, "However, when there's civilians just going about their daily routine of working at a restaurant or working on a field dock, you don't expect them to spring into action like these individuals did. There's no doubt in my mind that their quick response saved lives, saved properties, and truly made a difference that day." in a statement to NBC Miami.
Describing the gravity of their life-saving interventions, Dimiati told WSVN, “It is scary. A lot of people did leave, but we were the ones that did go out there and try to do our best to save the people that were injured and were hurt.”