NATICK - A 2-year-old girl was in serious condition last night in a
Boston hospital after rescue workers resuscitated her after she had
fallen into a pool, Deputy Fire Chief Mike Slattery said.
The child, who was not named due to Fire Department policy, was being
treated at Children's Hospital last night, Slattery said. He said she
was breathing with the aid of a ventilator.
"We had seven guys in the back of the ambulance working on the
baby," said Slattery. "She wasn't breathing - she was blue
and lifeless. The baby's lungs and stomach were filled with water. After
three or four minutes, the baby started moving and crying. It was unbelievable."
According to Slattery, a 911 call was received at 9:25 a.m. to respond
to a drowning at 28 Charles St.
The mother of the 2-year-old was looking for her daughter when she
noticed the rear sliding glass door was open, Slattery said. The mother
ran outside, and saw the toddler face down in the pool. She dove in
and pulled her daughter out, but she wasn't breathing.
A police officer was the first to reach the Charles Street home, and
he met the ambulance out front with the unmoving child. The girl had
been in the water for about two minutes, the mother told police.
That's when the Fire Department rescuers - paramedics Top Topham and
Ken Levey, lieutenants James Sheridan and Tom Forance, and firefighters
Tom Spencer, Joe Slattery and Al Graham - went to work, the deputy said.
A bag valve mask was used to help pump air into the child's lungs,
while the group tried to suction the water out, Mike Slattery said.
When the child became conscious, she was taken directly to Children's
Hospital.
"I was the officer in charge, and I was there - the guys did
a hell of a job," said Slattery. "They did everything right."
Although the child was breathing, she's not out of the woods yet,
Slattery said.
"One of the things you have to look out for in children is infection,"
he said. "The water was dirty."
The child's mother could not be reached for comment last night.