Clarence High School Student Credited With Rescuing Kayaker

With little time to act and a life at stake, Clarence High School junior Brody Kaufman used his instincts, strength and his emergency preparedness training to help bring an imperiled kayaker to safety while traveling in Florida during Spring Recess. 

“I know he's a helper,” said his mother, Kathleen, a special education teacher at Clarence Center Elementary School. “He was going to do everything in his power to help and to save him.”

Brody, an offensive and defensive lineman for the varsity football team and a junior member of the Harris Hill Volunteer Fire Company, had stayed in the car as his family parked in the area of Marathon and Duck Key on April 19 so his parents could look at tarpon feeding. While there, Kathleen texted Brody about seeing an overturned kayaker in a fast-moving current.

“I had a feeling I should check it out, and I'm glad I did,” Brody said. 

Using a rope borrowed from a nearby fisherman, Brody and other people on an overlooking bridge were able to lower a rope to the kayaker to secure himself, eventually getting three ropes down to help secure the man. Brody had one of the ropes wrapped around himself to ensure the kayaker’s safety.

“Brody was at the helm of that rope, and he wasn't going to let go,” Kathleen Kaufman said. 

After first attempting to drag the kayaker to the shore, Brody and other responders then decided the kayaker’s fatigue and ill-fitting life jacket made it too risky to continue that approach. They would have to lift him up by rope about 50 feet vertically to the bridge. 

“Even with the adrenaline and emotion, it was still very difficult,” Brody said. “We got him to the edge of the bridge, and he was still really slippery.”

The group was able to pull the kayaker to safety, and the kayaker was safely taken to the hospital by ambulance.

“Focusing on the end goal, it just made you keep going,” Brody said. “That sense of pride, it's immense.”

The remarkable water rescue was actually Brody’s second emergency intervention during emergencies he encountered during his family travels during the school break. While traveling through the Atlanta airport, Brody provided first aid to a man that had fainted at a restaurant until paramedics could arrive.

The heroic actions were not a surprise to those who knew him through his school and extracurricular activities, including participation in varsity football, basketball and track.

Paul Burgio, Clarence Middle School teacher and recently retired varsity football coach, described Brody as a special young man both on and off the field. 

“As a football player, he is a larger-than-life lineman who dominates the line of scrimmage and possesses great leadership skills. Off the field, Brody is an intelligent, caring young man that has a heart of gold,” Burgio said. “It does not surprise me one bit to see that he jumped into action to save a complete stranger’s life. That’s the kind of young man he is.”

Steven J. Pollard, chief of the Harris Hill Volunteer Fire Company, described Brody as an “outstanding kid” who assists the department in recruiting other junior members, and in January was recognized as the department’s junior member of the year. Though Pollard said pulling people from rushing waters from a bridge is not a typical scenario that junior members train for, he said he was not surprised that Brody was willing to help at the scene.

“Some would've just stood there and filmed it,” Pollard said. “He went there and made a difference.”

Brody is also a student in the Emergency Medical and Fire Services program at Erie 1 BOCES’ Kenton Career & Technical Education Center. 

He thanked his instructors and those at the fire department who have supported his development for preparing him to help when an emergency came his way.

In addition to pursuing his dreams of playing football collegiately, Brody said he wants to study a field like emergency management to potentially to become a professional firefighter. Among his motivations is the ability to help others.

“The feeling after helping somebody, even if it's somebody having a rough day and being able to talk them through it, is a good feeling,” Brody said. “That's a feeling I want to have for the rest of my life."

Brody’s heroism has also been highlighted by local media outlets, including WKBW-TV. To read their report about Brody, visit https://www.wkbw.com/news/local-news/it-was-incredible-clarence-teen-hero-rescues-kayaker-during-florida-vacation.