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2 Volusia County lifeguard save boy, 5, from drowning
FOX 35 spoke with two lifeguards who saved the life of a five-year-old boy who was found unconscious at Silver Beach in Volusia County. The lifeguards responded to cries for help after a boy drowned in the water. The lifeguards started CPR and the boy started breathing again.
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. - The training of two Florida lifeguards kicked in instantly as they moved on instinct to save a young boy's life.
Two Silver Beach lifeguards jumped into action to save a boy, 5, who nearly drowned in the ocean near Silver Beach on July 30.
‘Everyone handled it calmly’
What they're saying:
Dempsey Manhart described the "crazy" experience.
Dempsey was preparing to take his lunch break when the child’s family started flagging him down and crying for help.
The boy was in the arms of a family member, unconscious, Dempsey recalled.
He was helping bring the boy in from the water when his co-lifeguard, Mackenzie Malone, arrived and checked the boy’s pulse and the lifeguards immediately began CPR.
Lifeguards Dempsey Manhart (L) and Mackenzie Malone (R).
"However crazy the situation was, everyone handled it calmly, and we did a good job with how we went about it."
Mackenzie, who’s now working her fourth summer as a lifeguard, said this is the first time she’s experienced saving a child from drowning.
"We’re always expecting anything," she said. "… We’re always prepared. We always make sure that we know what to do no matter what the scenario is."
"The moment he called that he was going on a rescue, I knew that it was going to be serious," she said. "But the moment I saw that he was unconscious, that he had a wound on his head, that I seemed to be not aware, I knew that it was going to be something big."
Two Silver Beach lifeguards saved a boy, 5, from drowning.
She said her training kicked in as the pair instantly began CPR.
"Thankfully, it ended up in a positive direction," Mackenzie said. "… I’m just very grateful that everything we followed, it worked out and that he actually is able to have a life and come home to a family."
The lifeguards said they hope the rescue serves as a reminder for beachgoers to swim near staffed lifeguard towers, where trained responders can provide immediate assistance in an emergency.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from Silver Beach lifeguards Dempsey Manhart and Mackenzie Malone.