Jersey City firefighters save 11-year-old from drowning after seizure
JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (WABC) -- A mother in New Jersey was thankful after several Jersey City firefighters sprang into action to help save her daughter from drowning.
Firefighters were in the area for a community outreach program on Wednesday when they heard a lifeguard's whistle and rushed to find 11-year-old Tatiana drowning at Lafayette pool after suffering from a seizure.
"She was swimming from one side to the other, and then she just spaced out," mom Tanya Vazquez said. "I knew something was wrong."
Tatiana was pulled to safety by firefighters Christopher Bolger, Eddie O'Brien, Mark Lee and Captain Kenny Simone. They rendered first aid until the ambulance arrived.
She was in the hospital for a few hours, but she is now recovering at home.
"That's what we are here to do," Lee said. "We were in the right place at the right time. It's our job."
Over the past three years, all JCFD academy graduates are required to fulfill EMT training, a certification that saved the 11-year-old's life.
Tatiana's seizure disorder was discovered about a year ago. She currently takes medications to reduce the effects of her condition.
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