When 21-year-old Matthew Fleming woke up Tuesday morning, the last thing he expected to do was save a life.
But that's just what happened when he spotted an older man flailing in the water in the small community of St. Vincent's and jumped into action.
An employee at P & D Hardware on Newfoundland's Irish Loop, Fleming was heading back to work when he witnessed the man being flung from his boat into Holyrood Pond.
Everything that happened next was by instinct.
He stopped his truck, grabbed a life jacket and a rope from a nearby shed and didn't think twice before jumping into the freezing cold water.
"It was so cold. So cold. I ran out of breath half the way out and I just kept on going anyways [because] I had no other choice to go," said Fleming.
I had it in my head that I was getting him back to the shore and there was no question about that- Matthew Fleming
It's hard to remember how long it took to get to the man, who thankfully was wearing a life jacket, but Fleming said he was in the water for around 10 minutes.
"I had it in my head that I was getting him back to the shore and there was no question about that," he said.
Spinning boat an extra hazard
Making matters worse was the boat that launched the man into the water.
It was still spinning in circles, and if it hit either of them, might have dealt a fatal blow;
"When I took him out of the water, he was like, 'Thank you … if it wasn't for you I wouldn't be here right now.'" - Matthew Fleming
"I yelled at him before I got into the water and asked him if he was OK, but he screamed out, 'Get the boat, get the boat!'
Frozen by the cold, and nursing an injury, the man in the water couldn't move on his own.
"He was like, 'I'll always remember you.'"
The man left by ambulance, but is expected to make a full recovery.
Afterwards, Fleming continued on his way, and did what many others who just executed a dramatic rescue might not do right away.
He headed back to work.
"I can't take the day off," he said. "I need to make some money."