Jet ski driver modest as media firestorm erupts
A LARA man who used his jet ski to douse a boat that had erupted in flames has been surprised at all the fuss his actions have caused.
Dean Linic, 23, had been at Lake Buffalo near Myrtleford a week ago when he noticed flames billowing from a boat.
Video footage, taken by a spectator, shows Mr Linic appear at the scene on a jet ski and then repeatedly maneuvering his craft to splash water onto the fire.
The two 17-year-olds on the boat had already escaped, after suffering second and third-degree burns.
Mr Linic said using his jet ski to put out the fire seemed a no-brainer.
“So I thought I’d just take it into my own hands.”
Various newspapers covered the story, three television channels and a live radio interview all followed.
“I didn’t think what I did was anything special,” Mr Linic said.
“There was nothing newsworthy about it. It must have just been a slow news day.”
He was also surprised to find media outlets covering the event that hadn’t even bothered speaking to him about it.
“They’ve all cross-referenced their material, all feeding off each other,” he said.
“It’s all just blown out of all proportion.”
Mr Linic was retrenched from his work at Shell before Christmas and is steadily working his way through an application to join the Melbourne Fire Brigade.
“It’s a two or three-year process,” he said.
“I’ll just keep pushing away until I get there.
“It is a bit ironic because one of the reporters asked me what I did for a living and when I said I wanted to become a fire fighter.
“They said, ‘Well this should help shouldn’t it?”‘
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