FIRE: Derrick Kent and John Fallesen save the day

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July 20, 2009

By Bill Wolcott<br><a href="mailto:bill.wolcott@lockportjournal.com">E-mail Bill</a> The Lockport Union-Sun %26 Journal Mon Jul 20, 2009, 01:46 AM EDT

Derrick Kent and John Fallesen were overwhelmed by the attention they received from the town, county and state for their actions during a fire at the Sunset Bay Marina on Memorial Day.

They still wear scars from the burns they received on their arms and upper body. Now they have citations from the Town of Wilson, the Niagara County Legislature and the state senate, plus a special congratulations from Wilson Fire Chief Gary Darnell.

Kent, 34, the father of three, is a Niagara Falls native who always wanted to work on boats. Fallesen, 22, lives in Youngstown and was on the job when a spark set off a fire May 25 that could have triggered a catastrophe.

“I just didn’t think we did anything too great,” Kent said. “It’s overwhelming.”

“It was trial by fire,” Fallesen said. “The carburetor just backfired and it exploded from there.”

The men, with Jimmy Hoffman and Brian Riordan, pulled a flaming power boat out of the marina that contained six other boats and a propane tank.

“At first I thought I just singed my hair and didn’t know how bad it was,” Kent said. “It didn’t really feel bad at first. I thought I was just going to have a really bad hair cut.”

Kent’s hair has grown back, but still has scar from the fire.

The Wilson Fire Chief attended the ceremonies that took place Wednesday prior to the town board meeting. “Had they not gone back in to remove the boat we would have been faced with a huge catastrophic loss to the town, to the county and significantly put other people’s life at risk as far as firefighters and civilians,” Darnell said. “It takes a special few to go in and do something heroic like that.”

“I was worried that Derrick was still in the boat so I ran back in there, hoping to see that he was out and he was,” Fallesen said. “From there we just pulled it out of the building.”

“He’s my favorite guy,” Kent said of Fallesen.

Kent attended the Marine Mechanics Institute in Orlando, Fla. “I always really wanted to work on boats and I remember the old Century Club on Buffalo Avenue near the Grand Island Bridge. It was kind of abandoned and I used to sneak in when I was little and play in them. I just like boats.”

Hoffman, Riordan, Kent and Fallesen were able to get the boat out of the building.

Kent and Fallesen were working on a boat in the service bay area of Kent’s repair shop when a spark generated a fire. Kent and Fallesen attempted to pulled the boat out, but halfway out the boat slipped off the fork lift.

Darnell estimated that the action of Kent and Fallesen saved at least $500,000.

“It would have been absolutely horrible if it got out of control,” the chief said.

There were six boats in the former Becky’s Boat Basin carrying 100 to 300 gallons of gasoline each. If the tanks are not full, there is more chance of explosion. Liquid gasoline does not explode, but the vapors explode, Darnell explained. There was also an estimated 200 pounds of propane.

Marina owner Tom Brigham said, “They saved the building, if not the entire property.”

Kent and his three children, Jacob, 11, Eileena, 8, and Simon, 3, attended the ceremonies.

Both men received a Certificate of Recognition from the town. In part, it read: “In recognition of their heroic efforts and quick thinking on May 25, with no thought of personal safety jumped on fork lift and re-entered the into the building to remove the flaming boat. Thus they prevented what could have been major damage to the building and nearby properties and possibly serious injuries to responding personnel.”

Honoring the two men prior to the town board meeting were the Niagara County Legislature and state Sen. George Maziarz, R-Newfane.

“We feel they are heroes,” Supervisor Joe Jastrzemski said. “If it wasn’t for them down at Sunset Marina, they would have lost a tremendous amount of property. Who knows what kind of damage it would have done, once that place got up and going?”

• A benefit for Kent and Fallesen will be held on Aug. 9 from noon until 4 p.m. There will be food, beverages, live entertainment, Chinese auction, silent auction and 50/50 raffle. The cost is $25 and all proceeds will go to their recovery. Contact Rose Wiktor at 751-9141. Tickets will be sold at the door on the day of the benefit.

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