Child Stops Breathing, Firefighters Spring To Action In Greenwich

GREENWICH, CT — Three Greenwich firefighters acted quickly Tuesday afternoon when they were flagged down at a red light to save a young child who had stopped breathing.

Lt. Erik Maziarz said he and two crew members, firefighters Christopher Kelly and Adam Jakubowski, were on their way to Cos Cob for a routine assignment 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. "We heard a horn beeping. We thought it might be a road rage incident at first."

The woman driving the honking vehicle eventually pulled up alongside the truck, screaming and holding a child halfway out the window. Maziarz said the child, who he guessed was younger than 2 years old, was "blue, limp and unresponsive."

In hindsight, Maziarz said, the woman had probably seen the firetruck go by and chased it to get the firefighters' attention.

"We're all trained medical technicians, and [Kelly] has a more extensive background in the EMS field than the other two of us do," Marziarz said.

Kelly parked the firetruck and immediately sprang into action, Maziarz said. He quickly determined the child was not breathing and administered back blows and chest compressions but without effect.

After attempting to contact EMS, firefighters realized they were only two blocks from Greenwich Hospital.

"This all happened within seconds," Maziarz said. "Knowing how close we were to the hospital, the decision was made to just hop in the fire engine and take [the child] to the emergency room."

On the way to the hospital, Kelly continued trying to get a response from the child. He eventually found a pulse on her arm and her color began to return, Maziarz said. Though the child remained unconscious, she showed some other signs of responsiveness, such as biting on Kelly's finger.

Maziarz pointed out that, unlike EMS, the fire truck did not have radio communication with the hospital, so the department's dispatch center alerted the emergency room of the incoming arrival.

"It all went very smoothly," Maziarz said. "I think our intervention, if it didn't save her life, it did prevent serious injury."

Maziarz said, as of Wednesday evening, he did not know the child's current condition and was unsure what caused her to stop breathing.

Though it was a scary situation, all three men were able to make quick decisions that got the child to the care of doctors as fast as possible.

"We train everyday for situations like this, for the sole purpose that we know how to handle it and act accordingly," Maziarz said. "I was proud to seem my own crew members act so calmly and without hesitation to do what needed to be done."