Pocatello man who died following boat fire honored with Red Cross award
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EDITOR’S NOTE: EastIdahoNews.com is teaming up with the American Red Cross of Greater Idaho to honor ordinary individuals who have done extraordinary things to help others.
The 11 winners of the 2017 East Idaho Real Heroes awards were announced March 2. Each day EastIdahoNews.com will feature a different winner.
POCATELLO — The children of a Pocatello man who died after being burned in a boat fire accepted an award on their fathers behalf last week.
Tyvan Schmitt suffered severe burns in the fire at Phillips 66 in Pocatello on June 25. A boat on his trailer caught fire after it was filled with fuel at station. After a friend pulled him out, Schmitt drove the pickup and burning boat away from the gas pumps.
“The boat was fully involved,” Pocatello assistant fire chief Thomas Sandford says. “He stopped, dropped, and rolled, and put himself out like people should.”
Schmitt was burned over 80 percent of his body. He was flown to a Salt Lake City hospital, where he died several weeks later.
“He had a lot of people that felt like he was their very best friend,” Tyvan’s wife, Lori Schmitt, says. “The day he got in the accident he had brought some homeless people to the house and got them a motel room plus some money so they could get on their way.”
The American Red Cross of Greater Idaho selected Tyvan as one of their 2017 “East Idaho Real Heroes.” During a luncheon last week, Schmitt’s three children accepted an award on their father’s behalf. They hope he leaves a legacy that won’t be forgotten.
“He taught us that everyday people can help and everyday people can be heroes,” Lori Schmitt says.
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