Brody Kaufman, a junior firefighter, heroically lead the rescue of a kayaker in the Florida Keys while on vacation.
FLORIDA, USA — While on vacation with his family in the Florida Keys, 17-year-old Brody Kaufman of Clarence, NY, helped rescue a man who fall into the water.
Kaufman, a junior firefighter with the Harris Hill Vol. Fire Company, was in the car with his sister when his parents stepped out to observe wildlife and sent him a text that a man had fallen into the water.
“They texted me and said they saw tarpon feeding. Then a few seconds later, they said someone fell into the water and they might have to call 911,” Brody Kaufman said.
When he arrived, Kaufman saw a man struggling to stay afloat after losing grip of his kayak.
“I saw a dude clinging onto his kayak, and then he lost it. His friends couldn’t get back to him because of the current, and he started drifting,” Brody said.
His mom, Katie Kaufman said, “he just didn’t waste any time. He ran right over to the guy and started doing what he does.”
Brody approached nearby fishermen and asked for rope to attempt a rescue.
“One fisherman gave me a rope. I threw it out and tried to yell instructions on how to tie it around himself… Another fisherman gave me a rope with a carabiner clip, which he clipped to his lifejacket.”
Brody said at one point the man let go of two ropes, leaving only the one clipped to his loose lifejacket.
“That’s when I thought it could take a turn for the worse,” Brody said. “If I don’t step in, he’s going to get thrown out to sea with a life jacket that’s too big. He would have been swept under with the current, and he wouldn’t have had a chance.”
With help from others on the bridge, they pulled the man up.
His father, Matt Kaufman, said Brody led the effort. Brody “really said, ‘hey, this is what we need to do,’ and he led the other fishermen, asked them to get ropes. They went and got ropes, and then he really just took charge from there. As far as the rescue effort, talking to the young individual that we were trying to rescue, giving him instructions, trying to get him to tie things onto his jacket, whether it was a rope or clip it on, trying to ask other people for help, and even when the cops showed up, Brody’s the one that took the rope from him and gave him the third rope. He really coordinated the whole rescue effort as a 17 year old.”
“We pulled him up about 50 feet. When he got to the top, I threw my rope over and grabbed his arm. Everyone else grabbed his legs and pulled him up,” Brody said.
Once on the bridge, Brody helped position the man safely. He credited his training with Clarence Center Fire Company and his BOCES program in fire and EMS for preparing him.
“Everything that I’ve seen, been through, and been taught, I’ve kind of just put that all into my head…. and [it] got me in the correct mindset to help this man,” Brody said. “If nobody was doing anything fast enough, I knew I needed to take charge. I just jumped into action.”
Brody has been with Harris Hill Fire Company for about two years.
“I always knew that he had that in him, but to actually see it take place, to see him lead and just control that situation was pretty remarkable,” Matt Kaufman said.
His parents, Matt and Katie Kaufman are proud. Katie Kaufman was on on the bridge during the incident and observed her son.
“We model this every day. We’re not the type to turn a blind eye. To see him in action was absolutely incredible.” She added, “I knew he was destined for big things. He’s always been a helper. He’s always been the person that’s going to go up to a stranger and introduce himself, so I knew that he wasn’t going to be a wallflower in life. I had no idea he would do something this big, but I’m happy that he was there at the right time in the right place.”
Matt Kaufman was next to Brody helping with the rescue effort.
“It’s what he’s passionate about. It’s what he loves. It was obvious the way he took control of the situation that this is what he’s destined to do,” Matt Kaufman said.
He hopes to become a full time firefighter in the future.
“I was doing my job. Like, that’s what I was trained to do. That’s what I feel like my purpose here is. I mean, that’s what I want to go into a career as, so I was doing what I thought was best,” Brody said.
His father said, “I think God put us there for a reason. It made our family vacation go from fantastic to unforgettable, to be able to save someone’s life and to see my son in action.”