Gulfport Firefighter, Neighbor Save Toddler Pulled from Pool

For more than two years, Firefighter and EMT Chris Mathis has been working alongside his "family" at the Gulfport Fire Department, responding to medical calls, house fires and other emergencies. Although he's trained to help those in need while he's at work, he doesn't expect to use his skills off-duty.

"That situation, it was nothing like being here at work, it was very nerve-racking," Mathis said.

Mathis says he took action when a 2-year-old boy was found at the bottom of a pool in his neighborhood. It happened about two weeks ago. Mathis was spending his day off working on his boat in the front yard of his Pinellas Park home when a neighbor's son frantically waved for help.

"When I got over there, his mom, Laura was on the floor doing chest compressions," he said.

Laura Karlhofer lives nearby as well and says she heard a huge splash, peaked outside her back door and saw a child pulling the 2-year-old boy from the pool. 

"I could hear people screaming," she said.

Karlhofer, who runs a daycare, says she's been CPR certified for 25 years.

"You never think you're gonna use it," she said.

Karlhofer says she reacted with instinct, ran over and moved people out of the way to start CPR while the adults in the house called 9-1-1. It was her son that ran across the street to get Mathis' help.

When Mathis arrived, the toddler was blue.

"I didn't think he was gonna make it," he said.

The little boy was in full cardiac arrest, he says. Mathis joined Karlhofer and continued to do CPR until emergency officials got there.

Their efforts worked and saved his life.

"We got him breathing. I was relieved," he said. 

Karlhofer and Mathis found out later that the toddler made it into the backyard and wasn't being watched by the adults. There were adults inside the home, they say. Other children were with him and Karlhofer believes the boy that pulled him from the pool was only 9 or 10 years old.

Both Karlhofer and Mathis hope this incident sparks interest in CPR certification, pool safety and swimming lessons for children.

"CPR is a priority in Florida," Karlhofer said.

The two have since seen the little boy and say he's doing fine. Karlhofer says she found out that he started swimming lessons this week.

"He come over and hugged me for like 10 minutes,” she said.

The two are not only receiving praise from the little boy they saved, they're also being recognized by the Florida Suncoast SAFE KIDS Coalition, sponsored by All Children's Hospital. Karlhofer and Mathis will attend a special luncheon on Wednesday, June 26 at All Children's Hospital.

"I just did what any dad, friend or neighbor would do," Mathis said.

“I’m not a hero, I just did what anyone should do in that circumstance, you just do what you have to do to save a life,” Karlhofer said.

For more information:

CPR Certification 

Most local fire departments will offer CPR certification.

Links: 

American Red Cross

American Heart Association

Pool Safety

Gulfport Fire Chief James Marenkovic says parents need layers of protection. Those include fences, child-proof door knobs, alarms, etc. 

Links: 

PoolSafety.gov

Swimming Lessons

Links: 

St. Pete Beach Recreation Center

YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg

YMCA of the Suncoast