Second later, Hancock saw a police officer with a fire extinguisher running toward a nearby gas station. Hancock put his truck in gear, flipped on his strobes and flashers, and followed the officer.

“I could see a man, his truck, the island gas pumps, and trash cans, were on fire,” said Hancock, a water treatment operator at Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utilities. “I jumped out of my truck, grabbed my fire extinguisher, and picked up the officer's extinguisher, which he had set down to remove the burn victim from the truck and burning area. I used both extinguishers to put out the fires.”

After dousing the flames, Hancock ran to his truck, grabbed a bottle he had filled just moments before with drinking water, and gave it to the victim to rinse his mouth and eyes. “His face was kind of black and was blistering and melting. He was losing skin off his nose, cheeks, and ear, and most of his hair was burned off.”

For his quick-thinking actions, Hancock has been awarded AWWA’s Heroism/Courageous Service Award. 

“Wow, good job, Rick!” David Persinger, AWWU treatment division director, wrote in a message to Hancock, shortly after the March 1 incident. “Way to assist our fellow department and a member of the public.”

“His actions were exemplary for the workers in our industry,” Brett Jokela, AWWU’s general manager, told Connections. “Heralding his heroism will help shine the light on utility workers as first responders and the role our employees play in service to the public.”

Hancock, who has worked at AWWU for four years, will receive a bronze medallion in recognition of his actions. Hancock was awarded the Municipality of Anchorage Humanitarian of the Year award by Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz for his quick, knowledgeable, and unselfish response at the scene.

The incident unfolded during Hancock’s lunch break on March 1 as he sat in his utility truck in a bank parking lot, waiting for a co-worker, who was making a transaction. After seeing the flash and the officer running toward the gas station with an extinguisher, Hancock drove to the scene to help. He quickly assessed it wasn’t dangerous to approach.

“I have an aviation background,” Hancock said. “With my knowledge of the different types of fuel on those islands, I was able to see by the color codes that it was fairly safe to approach. I realized I was dealing with diesel fuel, which has a high flashpoint. If you throw a match into a cup of diesel fuel, it will make a lazy, yellow flame and burn real slow.”

Hancock later learned the injured man and his friend had been in a truck they thought was low on gas. They then diagnosed a plugged-up carburetor and nudged the truck into the gas station. The man bought a can of starting fluid and sprayed it into the engine compartment.

“Apparently the carburetor was really hot,” Hancock said. “When he sprayed it in there, the whole thing flashed and exploded because there was a bunch of fuel inside the carburetor already. He took the full force of it.

“Turns out it wasn’t a carburetor issue at all. They had a blocked fuel pump. It was one of those Darwin moments where they should have let the engine cool off before they jumped in and did anything.”

After the explosion, Hancock said the man appeared to be in shock and strangely calm about his injuries. “He was going to recover,” Hancock said, “but with some scars to his face, etc.”

Word of Hancock’s heroic deed spread quickly through AWWU. “I work with some real comedians….The fire extinguisher I used that day was mounted to the door of the truck. When I grabbed it, it wouldn’t release, so I yanked it off because seconds matter. Later, we had to mount it back on with four larger screws. Some of the guys said I should be written up for damaging city property.”

There’s also talk of hosting utility-wide barbecues “and making sure I’m on site in case things go awry.”

Hancock said AWWU has first-aid kits in all its vehicles, but has since added burn gels and burn bandages. “Alaska can be pretty remote,” Hancock said. “Anchorage is 70 miles long – bigger than the state of Rhode Island. We have an excellent paramedic system,” but the sheer size of the area means it can take a while for help to arrive."

Now, 2 ½ months after that memorable day, Hancock is reflecting on the experience. 

“The most important thing I took away,” Hancock said, ‘is to never be afraid to lend assistance, to make a difference in someone’s life.”