Key West The Newspaper

On June 5th, in the early morning hours, Deputy Seth Hopp was on patrol when he saw smoke billowing form the Vaca Key Marina in Marathon. He called in a fire at that location and other deputies headed his way. As he heard an explosion, he ran toward the fire, concerned about the safety of anyone who might be in the area.

Other deputies arrived. At a team, they all began clearing residences in the area, moving boats moored in the vicinity of the fire and moving many of the hundreds of traps stacked at the marina, saving the traps and making room for firefighters to reach the fire.

At a ceremony held on Friday, Squad Sgt. Nicholas Whiteman talked about the hundreds of thousands of dollars in property saved by their quick and decisive action and Sheriff Rick Ramsay honored the group for their outstanding work.