ACTON, MASS. (WHDH) - A 19-year-old lifeguard described the moment she rescued a 5-year-old boy from an Acton pool during her break Sunday afternoon.
Alison Mammola was taking her break at her lifeguarding job at the Bellows Farms condominium complex when she heard a commotion just after 5 p.m. A young boy had lost his floatation devices and sunk to the bottom of the deep end, according to Acton police.
“I got up and I saw him at the bottom and my lifeguard instincts kicked in,” Mammola said. “He was in the nine feet area and the pool is a 25-meter length.”
Without hesitation, Mammola dove in and brought the boy to the surface.
“He had no pulse,” she said.
After mouth-to-mouth and two rounds of CPR, the boy began breathing on his own as first responders arrived, Mammola said.
“It was amazing, literally a weight felt lifted from my chest. It was really scary too because thinking about how it could have ended in a different situation, but I was just happy that the boy was okay and that paramedics were able to take care of the rest,” Mammola said.
The lifeguard said she was just doing her job. She also said the young boy’s family was in her thoughts.
“I just keep saying, ‘I’m just happy he’s okay,’ and I can’t even believe what they’re going through, so I honestly just hope that they’re with him and making sure he’s okay right now,” Mammola said.
Acton police and firefighters said the 5-year-old boy was alert and oriented when they arrived on the scene. On Monday, first responders thanked Mammola for jumping into action.
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