A 19-year-old Volusia County man heard screams from a nearby canal, so he stripped down to his boxers, jumped into the murky water and pulled the man to safety, fire officials confirmed Tuesday.

Nic Berry called 911 at about 9:30 a.m., Wednesday July 19, to report a man had fallen near the AutoZone at 2078 State Road 44 in New Smyrna Beach.

New Smyrna Beach firefighters arrived at the scene and talked to Berry, who stated the man fell into the canal near the auto parts store.

Berry went into the canal and assisted the man out and then called authorities.

"The patient had no medical complaint on scene; however, our crews did assess his vital signs and took a patient refusal," said Lt. Mike Green, a spokesman with the New Smyrna Beach Fire Department. "We commend Mr. Berry for his actions, especially in recent events that happened in Cocoa."

About 50 miles south, the Cocoa Police Department has said it plans to file charges against a group of teenagers who filmed and mocked a man as he was drowning in a pond.

There's no Florida law requiring to report to officials that someone is dying. But after someone has died, people are required to contact authorities, according to Cocoa Police Chief Michael Cantaloupe.

Berry, a recent high school graduate who plans to enlist in the U.S. Navy, says the water he jumped into did not come from a natural spring and "seemed like sewage," according to the Associated Press.

The man told Berry he tripped and fell into the water on his walk home from the hospital after visiting his wife.

Berry offered the man a bottle of water, some chips and a ride home.

"I told him to have a happy day and not to fall into any more ponds," Berry said he told the still-shaken man when he dropped him off.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.