Neighbor News
Kensington Man Saves Man From Burning Boat
Joe Ralston, of Kensington, boarded his fishing boat to save a man from drowning after jumping off of his burning sailboat.
What began as a routine stay at his mother’s house on the South River turned into an extraordinary night for Joe Ralston.
Ralston, 48, of Kensington, woke up suddenly at 2:40 a.m. Wednesday and noticed an odd light about the room. He stood up to look out the window and discovered a burning boat on the river, in the distance.
A 25-foot sailboat was ablaze in the middle of the South River. Ralston called 911 to report the fire, then using
binoculars, spotted what he thought was a person on the bow of the boat. He asked the dispatcher where the rescue boats were based. When he heard they would be coming from the Coast Guard Station Annapolis, he thought, “I just gotta get there”.
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“I almost missed him,” said Ralston, who boarded his fishing boat and drove to the burning sailboat. “I
could feel the heat on my face from pretty far away.”
He pulled out his phone to take a picture as he approached the vessel. In an untimely twist, Ralston accidentally hit the record button before throwing his phone and managed to video the ordeal.
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As he approached the boat, Ralston saw something that caught his attention, but it disappeared. Keeping his light on that spot, a hand and a face appeared on the surface, “struggling to keep above the water”, he said.
Ralston quickly approached the man and threw him a ring buoy. Due to the wind conditions and poor visibility, he opted to throw a rope rather than to try and back up to the man who seemed too weak to swim.
Ralston said the man was disoriented and groaning for help. Once Ralston pulled the man aboard his boat, he radioed to notify emergency personal to meet him at nearby Liberty Marina.
Maryland Natural Resources Police spokeswoman Candy Thomson said the department is “very appreciative” of Ralston’s efforts. Thomson said the fire was declared an accident. She said the boat owner apparently knocked over a space heater on deck that lit a cushion seat on fire, which spread over the entire deck. Thomson said the boat owner is responsible for cleaning up the wreckage from the river.
As for Ralston, it was a serendipitous — and humble — night of being in the right place at the right
time. “The man was not at all where I expected anyone to be. I don’t feel like a hero. I just feel so lucky that this worked out the way it did,” he said.