Steve Hunt didn’t grow up with dreams of being a fireman. But not long after the economy tanked in 2008, he checked out the New Hanover County Fire and Rescue. He was hoping to find a more stable job — but, instead, he found a calling
“Like, to have no awareness about it, and then go through the academy and then be hooked, I was like, ‘what in the world? How? How did this even happen.’ I had no plans to stay. And then, like I said, I ran that first few calls. I was like, ‘Alright, this is, this is my line of work now,'” Hunt said.
These days Hunt’s a captain on Engine 13. And on Saturday, July 20, Hunt had the night off, wedged between two 24-hour shifts, and he and his girlfriend, Heather Miller, wanted to go out. Although they’d not originally planned on heading to downtown Wilmington, that’s where they ended up, grabbing a meal on Front Street and then going to watch the sunset. Wandering away from the crowd at Market and Water street, Hunt saw someone acting unusual near the riverfront bulkhead by the Alton Lennon Federal Courthouse.
“So we’re just sitting on the wall, and we noticed this guy down about 100 feet away, climb a fence. There’s a barrier there and a fence in front of the courthouse, and he climbs over, and he’s just standing by the river. And at first, seemed weird,” Hunt said.
When the man kicked off his shoes into the river, Hunt started to worry. Then, things went from weird to life-threatening.
“And then he plants his hands and scoots off right into the river. And I’m like, ‘that’s not normal.’ So I start like running through in my head what’s coming next,” Hunt said.
Hunt ran towards the man, who was already struggling in the river’s powerful current.
“Soon as he goes in, it looks like he’s swimming. But you realize he’s just grabbing at the top edge of the water — so he’s deep, and he’s got his hands extended up, and he’s just, it’s like he thinks he can grab the edge of the water and pull himself up,” Hunt said.
At this point, Hunt said his training kicked in. After trying to reach the man from the safety of the bulkhead along the river, Hunt said he knew he’d have to jump in to save him.
“So I’m like, alright, we’re going in the water,” he said.
Hunt guessed the man was over six foot, and at least 250 pounds — and, to make things more complicated, he seemed to be struggling not just physically but emotionally.
“The guy switches from I want help and I want to live, back to just let me go … And I’m telling him, we’re going to get through it and everything’s gonna be fine. And he’s pulling, like, trying to get the other way,” Hunt said.
During one moment of almost surreal calm, Hunt tried to get the man to appreciate the stunning scenery.
“The battleships off to our left, we’re in the water, and it was quiet, and he was between the emotional outburst, you know. And I was like, ‘Hey, man, I know it might seem weird, but look toward the battleship and how cool it looks from this location.’ I was trying to get him to not think about either the girlfriend or the bills, or whatever it was that was on his mind,” Hunt said.
By then, three men had noticed Hunt’s efforts and helped him get the man out of the water — and later other first responders took him to a hospital, in stable condition.
Hunt, for his part, just wanted a towel to sit on in the truck on the way home — and a dry shirt to replace the one he’d been wearing.
“It’s my favorite red t-shirt — it’s a 2009 Wrightsville Beach lifeguard t-shirt a friend of mine gave me. I didn’t realize I was wearing the shirt, and then somebody, just a random bystander, was like, ‘Well, you had the right shirt on,'” Hunt said.
Hunt’s girlfriend posted on social media about what happened, and Hunt says, all in all, he’s glad he could share his story.
“Life is curious. You know, if you only watch the news or if you only focus on the negative stories, it’s easy to lose hope for humanity … but in the real world, we go to a house fire, all the neighbors coming out like, ‘is so-and-so okay,’ or ‘what’s going and how can I help’ and ‘do you need anything’ … I never, ever would have asked Heather to post this thing. Now I’m kind of glad she did. Seeing all the positive comments and that’s the real world out here, is people doing nice things for each other. It’s the overwhelming majority.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of self-harm or suicide, call or text the National Suicide Hotline at 988.