YMCA Lifeguard Rescues Child From Pool, Performs CPR

A six-year-old boy was pulled from a YMCA Pool by a lifeguard and given CPR on Wednesday.

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At about 9:30 a.m., the 6-year-old boy was taking part in YMCA's Camp Carter on the 6200 block of Sand Springs Road when he began having trouble in the pool. The lifeguard spotted the boy in distress and jumped in to remove him from the water.

The lifeguard performed CPR as other lifeguards called 911.

The boy was able to walk to the ambulance on his own, the YMCA said and he was transported to Cook Children's Medical Center for treatment. 

The boy was visiting Camp Carter as part of a day camp provided by the American Diabetes Association called Camp Aurora. He was among about 40 kids swimming at the pool at the time, says Camp Carter's Executive Director Andy Hockenbrock.

"It looked like he got into a little bit of distressed swimming, you know went to the bottom," Hockenbrock said. "The guards, without delay, jumped in made their save and started rescue operations."

That included CPR on the deck of the pool. The boy was in about three feet of water at the time. His parents were contacted immediately by the daycamp, Hockenbrock said.

"The young man is going to be fine, was actually walking and talking as he got into the MedStar ambulance," Hockenbrock said.

Fort Worth Fire officials say when fire crews arrived the boy was already coughing and talking on his own. And even with a positive outcome Fort Worth Fire spokesman Lt. Kyle Falkner says it serves as another example for parents to have a layered approach to pool safety for their kids.

"Everyone always needs to have CPR training," he said. "That was the key in this most recent event here in Fort Worth, having people on scene who could quickly do CPR made the difference."

Falkner says parents should not only watch their children carefully in the pool, but have them get swim lessons, have safety devices poolside and know what to do if a child goes under, among other safety measures.

"Two seconds is too long," Lt. Falkner said. "Two seconds is too much time to turn your back on children that are in the pool."

Last year, Tarrant County had four pediatric drownings, the third most in the state, with all four happening in backyard or apartment pools. The Texas Department of Family Protective Services also shows that one child has drowned in 2015 in a backyard pool.

"Not only do we need to have people watching the pool, but get swim lessons for kids as early as possible," Lt. Falkner said.

At Fort Worth Metro YMCAs, swim lessons are offered throughout the summer in an effort to educate and protect as many children as possible. The YMCA also works with the Fort Worth Drowning Prevention Coalition to teach basic water survival classes, although the Y recommends swim classes after those lessons.

While it's not known if Wednesday's rescued six-year-old knew how to swim, everyone at Camp Carter is glad to see that their preparations, emergency planning and training paid off.

"It's good to know that all the training and all the drills and all of the procedures that we put into place, that when a real emergency happens that they work," Hockenbrock said.

Despite the training and preparations at the pool, Hockenbrock says his 24-year-old head lifeguard, who was given the rest of the day off, deserves all the credit.

"He deserves the credit, because, again, it’s why we train," he said.

For more on the Fort Worth YMCA's swim lessons click here.