Off-duty paramedics, lifeguards save 5-year-old boy from drowning in pool
'We followed our training and kind of did what we're supposed to and it was a very positive outcome'
A day at the pool turned into a dramatic rescue at the YMCA/YWCA in Langford on Sunday.
Lifeguards pulled an unconscious five-year-old boy from the pool who had to be revived by aquatic centre staff and a pair of off-duty paramedics: married couple Kyle Klint and Karlie Wilson.
"We were in the right place at the right time," Klint told All Points West host Robyn Burns.
"We followed our training and kind of did what we're supposed to and it was a very positive outcome."
Klint and Wilson were at the pool with their four-year-old twin boys when they noticed a commotion in the water.
Klint explained that he was at the top of the pool's waterslide when he heard a lifeguard blow a whistle to signal danger.
They watched as lifeguards moved people away from the pool and hauled an unconscious boy out of the water. One of them got the boy on the deck and began CPR.
He and his wife recognized the child was in cardiac arrest and stepped in to offer their help: Wilson began chest compressions, while Klint kept the boy's airway clear and helped with ventilations.
"It looked like they really wanted some extra help because it was a very, very emotional scene," Klint said.
"Anytime, as a first responder, you deal with the pediatric age group, it produces a lot more emotions and things become a little bit more tense as well."
The boy's mother was understandably distraught, as were the paramedics' own children. Reassuring the bystanders was part of their work, Klint explained.
Fortunately, the boy began breathing on his own after about three to four minutes and was awake by the time an ambulance arrived and took him to the hospital.
Klint said the incident is a reminder about pool safety for children.
Parents need to keep an eye on their kids, he said. Kids who can't swim strongly, even at the pool, should be in a life jacket.
Any parents who see their kids in distress in the water should call 911 immediately. To be prepared, he added, parents should consider taking a first aid course.
With files from CBC Radio One's All Points West