St. Paul Fire Captain Jamie Smith is being credited with saving a man’s life while on vacation in south Florida last week.
Smith grabbed a life jacket and swam out around 30 yards into the water to rescue a man who, at the time, was being pulled out by the current further and further into the water.
“By the time I reached him, he didn't struggle at all, he went limp in my arms,” Smith said about the moment he reached the man in distress. “He was out of energy."
Smith, a firefighter/EMT, went to the Ft. Lauderdale area for a break in the warm sun. "Things have been difficult for us at St. Paul Fire Department in the last few weeks, losing three of our members,” Smith said. “I thought it was the right time for me to go and catch a breather and some south Florida sunshine."