A quick-acting lifeguard in Fort Worth credited with saving a 4-year-old boy from drowning says rescuing kids is "in the job description."
"If a kid is in the water and needs help, that's what we're here for," said 19-year-old Laramie Dunlap, a lifeguard at the Northwest YMCA on Boat Club Road.
He was giving 4-year-old twins Samuel and Joseph Pace, of Eagle Mountain Lake, their first swim lessons Monday evening when the boys began struggling to stay afloat.
"They're starting to get distressed, starting to drown, so I make a move and slip and fall," Dunlap said.
He banged his knee when he fell but didn't miss a beat.
"And I just roll into the pool," he said.
Dunlap, a student of economic theory at the University of North Texas, grew up around water and said he has always enjoyed swimming. He has worked as a lifeguard for about three years.
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He said the rescue was not his first, but acknowledged it isn't exactly routine.
"It's in the job description," he said. "You know, lifeguarding is long periods of boredom interrupted by sheer moments of terror."
A witness whose young daughter was taking swimming lessons said one of the twins was clearly in distress when Dunlap swung into action to save the boy.
"He was going under," Javier Zuniga said. "I don't think (Dunlap) was even the closest person there, but he was the one that responded. He was right there."
The boy's father, Buddy Pace, said his sons are just fine and never realized they were in any danger.
He said he was grateful for the lifeguard's quick thinking.
"I told him thank you for helping out," he said. "He did a great job."
