A Florida captain had a terrifying close call after his boat exploded. The flames badly burnt his body and left him in the hospital fighting for his life.
Captain Tim Hoban is reflecting back on that terrifying morning of August 24. He had been doing a maintenance check on his boat when the water craft went up in a ball of fire.
"Next thing I knew, I was unconscious and engulfed in flames," he told The Palm Beach Post. "I jumped off the side of the boat into the water and started screaming for help."
The flames gave the Florida captain second and third-degree burns on his legs, feet, hands, back, and face. He needed multiple skin grafts. The Florida captain called it the most painful thing he's ever experienced. His boat is also gone as well.
"His vessel and all his fishing rods are a loss and his way of making a living is gone," said Jonathan Witkowski, a friend of Tim's. "I just felt bad."
Hoban was trying to replace a broken float switch on his boat. He used a lighter to apply a heat shrink connector. But the Florida captain didn't realize that fuel vapors had built up in the lower part of his boat. It instantly exploded causing him to catch fire. He ran and jumped into the water. Fortunately, a deckhand nearby managed to toss him a life ring.
Florida Captain Catches Fire
The Florida captain pulled himself onto the dock, badly burned. He washed himself off with a water hose, while screaming, and called his wife Ashley. "I love my wife and I'm so sad she almost lost me," Hoban said. "I was on fire and all I could think was, 'I have to get out of here so I can live.' "
The captain has a long way to go before he recovers. "I bought that boat cheap. And put all my heart into sanding it, gel-coating it, fixing its thru-holes and putting new power on it," Hoban said. "I don't have the energy to do that now. I love being a captain and I'm really good at it, but I just can't even walk right now."
His friend also hopes he gets back out on the water.
"Tim just has a real love for the water and gets very enthusiastic about it," Witkowski said. "When you go fishing with him, he gets really hyped up. When you leave, you feel like you're more than a client. You're like a friend or family to him."
He also added, "He's a good guy with a good heart.
