On Mother’s Day 1993, a spark on a 33-foot cabin cruiser ignited gasoline in the boat’s generator, turning the vessel into an instant fireball. At the time, the boat was docked near a restaurant on the west bank of the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland.
“People were sitting there talking and laughing when all of a sudden it was an inferno,” said a bystander sitting a few yards from the boat. Aboard the boat was 10-month-old Charles Hoffman Jr., along with his parents, grandparents, and an uncle. “They were on the boat relaxing, soaking up the sun. The man in the front had a beer in his hand and he had just sat down. As soon as I turned around – boom!”
Every passenger aboard except for Charles was thrown from the boat and into the river. The deck of the boat was blown upward but remained joined to the hull on one side as flames broke out in the stern and produced dense black smoke.
Among the several witnesses to the explosion standing on a wooden dock near the restaurant were brothers Vincent M., 39; Daniel S., 34; and David F. Viancourt, 30. All three men were off-duty firefighters who were with their families for the holiday and moved them to safety as soon as the explosion occurred.
“We were outside when the boat exploded,” said Vincent in a May 10, 1993, Plain Dealer article. “Everyone on the dock ran, and we stood there. One of my brothers heard a baby crying.”
Heat from the flames was intense. So much so that the fire melted a nearby lamp post and could be felt by the experienced firefighters.
“I’ve been a firefighter for 13 years and it’s the hottest fire I’ve ever felt,” said Vince.
Despite the severity of the conditions, the three brothers went to the edge of the dock where David spotted Charles lying among debris in the bow of the boat. While flames continued to burn in the rear of the boat, David alerted his brothers and grasped a line hanging from the deck to pull the boat toward the dock.
Vincent stepped into the bow but did not see Charles immediately. David told his brother where to look from the dock and Vincent moved debris in the bow where he saw Charles, who appeared to be conscious. Vincent scooped up Charles and handed him to Daniel on the dock, who then passed him off to a bystander.
Vincent looked around the boat to see if anyone else remained inside as flames burned an arm’s length away and were spreading toward him.
“I can still remember one of my brothers yelling to get off the boat because it was going to explode again.”
Vincent stepped out of the boat and onto the dock as the flames grew quickly, the smoke rolling with the wind over the dock and restaurant.
Fearing the flames would spread to other boats docked at the scene, Vincent and his brothers began to free the lines that tied the boats to the dock, but as the heat continued to increase, they had to abandon that effort. By then, the burning boat was engulfed in flames that had also spread to the dock, setting it ablaze.
Daniel saw one of the boaters, Charles’ uncle, Denzil R. Moss, submerged just below the surface of the water. Daniel climbed onto a platform at the stern of another boat close to the burning one before he jumped into the water. David and Vincent followed their brother.
David obtained a boathook and passed it to Daniel as he swam about 25 feet toward Moss. Daniel later stated the flames from the burning boat appeared to roll over Moss, likely due to spilled fuel in the water.
Daniel stopped swimming and started to tread water when he could reach Denzil with the boathook. The heat at that point was described as “blistering,” and Daniel would immerse himself in the water repeatedly for relief.
Daniel used the boathook to snag Moss by his shirt and pulled him closer to Vincent and David. They remained close by as a patrolling boat from the state department of natural resources had arrived. An officer entered the water to help tow Moss to the patrol boat and hoist him aboard.
Bystanders on the dock called out and pointed out Charles’ grandmother, Nancy J. Moss, who was in the water.
Vincent saw her near the dock, north of the burning boat. The three brothers and the officer swam toward the dock as she was washed underneath the dock to a point beside the burning boat.
Daniel swam under the dock to search for her, but the cold water made it increasingly difficult for him to move his limbs, and he swam away. Vincent, David, and the officer also approached the dock, but heat from the flames prevented them from approaching. The three men returned to the patrol boat and informed officers that they were firefighters. They started to fight the flames with a pump and line equipped to the boat.
After 20 minutes of battling the flames with assistance of a coast guard boat, the remains of the burning boat sank, and flames on the dock and restaurant subsided.
Both Vincent and David re-entered the water and swam toward the dock to Nancy, who had floated into view. They grasped her and brought her back to the patrol boat. Although they were hopeful that she could be revived, and paramedics attempted to resuscitate her, Nancy had drowned.
Young Charles was hospitalized for minor injuries and would recover.
Denzil was revived and hospitalized for a broken right arm, a cut to his head, and respiratory problems, but ultimately died six days later.
The body of Hoffman’s father was recovered from the river days later.
All three of the Viancourt brothers were taken to the hospital where Vincent was treated for cuts to his right hand and both feet; Daniel was treated for first-degree burns to his forehead and nose, a right shoulder strain, and a cut to his right leg; and David was treated for a left shoulder strain. All three men recovered.
In the case report from Hero Fund investigator Marlin Ross, the acting chief of the fire department stated that the brothers’ actions “were not only ‘above and beyond the call of duty’ but went well beyond what anyone could have anticipated or expected of them. The fact that they were off duty only increased the magnitude of their actions.”
“It’s just part of the job,” David said after the rescue. “You have to go do something.”
“They were heroes,” a bystander who witnessed their actions that day told a reporter.
The three brothers would be recognized for their heroism in September 1994 by the Hero Fund. In line with many Carnegie heroes, the brothers’ response to receiving the medal was humble.
“This is overwhelming. We never looked for recognition. What we did was reacting by instinct,” said Vincent. “Any one of the men and women in the Fire Department would have reacted the same way. It is the nature of a firefighter.” He reflected on the difference of being on duty versus being without any equipment or notice to a situation like the one they found themselves in. “When you’re on duty, you expect it, you gear up for it. You wonder what you’d do if the unexpected happened.”
— Griffin Erdely, Communications Assistant