Child Saved By Greenwich Firefighters Visits Station

GREENWICH, CT — The last time firefighter Christopher Kelly held little 14-month-old Sophia Rincon, she was unresponsive and turning blue. He was performing CPR on her in the back of a firetruck as he and fellow crew members, Lt. Erik Maziarz and firefighter Adam Jakubowski, rushed to get the child to a nearby hospital.

When he finally got a chance to hold her again Thursday, it was under much better circumstances.

That was the day Sophia's parents, Jean and Luc, brought her to the central Greenwich fire station on Havemeyer Place to meet the three men who helped save her life.

"[Her parents] gave Sophia to me to hold, and I remember telling them that the last time I was holding her was under much different circumstances," Kelly said to Patch, "so it was nice to see her look up at me and give me a smile."

Springing Into Action

On Aug. 13, the crew of three were on their way to Cos Cob for a routine assignment at about 2:30 p.m. when they stopped at a red light on Mason Street. As they sat at the light, the three men heard rapid and frantic beeping near their firetruck.

"We heard some commotion," Maziarz said to Patch last month. "We heard a horn beeping. We thought it might be a road rage incident at first."

See also: Child Stops Breathing, Firefighters Spring To Action In Greenwich

The woman driving the honking vehicle was Sophia's mother, who eventually pulled up alongside the truck, screaming and holding her "blue, limp and unresponsive" child halfway out the window.

Kelly, who has an extensive EMS background, parked the firetruck and immediately sprang into action.

"Once I was out of the truck, the mother handed me Sophia," Kelly said. "I just checked her airway. We didn't know if she was choking or had a seizure, or if she just stopped breathing spontaneously."

Kelly quickly determined the child was not breathing and administered back blows and chest compressions but without effect. After attempting to contact EMS, the firefighters realized they were only two blocks from Greenwich Hospital.

"She wasn't breathing, and we knew we needed to get to the hospital," Kelly said. "We requested an ambulance, but we really didn't have time to wait and we were so close to the hospital. I knew we could get her to the ER faster."

Kelly eventually got the child to take her first breath again while en route to the hospital. They were also able to contact hospital staff prior to their arrival to ensure Sophia was immediately taken care of.

According to Maziarz, the entire incident happened in less than five minutes.

"It all happened so quickly; it's kind of a blur," Maziarz said. "We were on scene for about 38 seconds. That's how quickly it went from when they flagged us down...to when we hopped back into the firetruck and took off, and our actual response time to the hospital was less than a minute."

A Special Visit

When Sohpia's parents brought their daughter to the fire station last week to meet Maziarz, Kelly and Jakubowski, it was a joyous occasion.

"It was great," Kelly said. "She was very happy, and her parents said she's been doing great. She was smiling and laughing, and the parents were very appreciative."

Kelly said it was nice to see a happy reaction from Sophia's parents, especially since the last time he saw them was when he was speeding away with their child.

"I don't have kids myself, but I can only imagine how they were feeling when they just handed off their child to a stranger," Kelly said. "I just took [Sophia] and ran to a firetruck and sped away, so I can't imagine what must have been going through their heads."

After speaking with the Rincon's on Thursday, Maziarz said he learned Sophia suffered a febrile seizure the day they brought her to the hospital, which had caused her to stop breathing.

He also said it was not a common occurrence for someone they have helped to thank them in person.

"I can only count on one hand the few times in my career where people have come back after the fact to thank us," Maziarz said. "It's definitely a rewarding experience; a good feeling overall."

For Kelly, the story's positive outcome is the result of being in the right place at the right time with a crew that was able to work seamlessly together.

"It's nice to see a person doing well when the last time you saw them was when you were handing them off to the hospital," Kelly said. "When we get back in our truck and drive away, we have no idea what will happen, so it was good to see them all back together and happy as a family."