It was somebody else's post-flood generator. What life, by the way, was actually saved by this particular boat commandeerer? Making someone comfortable is not saving their life, and taking someone else's property to make others more comfortable is theft.
According to the article(s) on the subject, he "rescued" some 200 people...
Now, I don't have any way of knowing if this saved lives or what... that is what the write-ups tend to imply.