Sandy Hero Buried After Drowning in Surfing Accident

Dylan Smith, a surfer who rescued six people during Hurricane Sandy, was buried on Saturday after drowning in a surfing accident in Puerto Rico.

Referring to firefighters, Walter Rogers of the New York City Fire Department commented that,

"Some guys go through a whole career and don't save six people."

Smith’s funeral was made up of a procession of firefighters and bagpipes who marched down Beach 129th Street in Rockaway, where he was from and where he saved the six people. Trucks were lined up along Rockaway Boulevard, firefighters saluted, and Smith’s father, a retired firefighter all paid honor to him as if he had really been a firefighter himself.

"It's usually an honor that's given to firemen," Rogers said. "Out of respect for his dad, and the fact that Dylan was a hero on the storm, he saved at least six people, we felt it was an honor to honor him in this way."

Smith’s rescue was so noteworthy that he was named as one of People Magazine’s heroes of the year for 2012.