Bootle Firefighter saves child's life on holiday
Watch manager Ged Knock
A Bootle firefighter has told Radio City of the momemt he saved a young boy's life after seeing him drown on holiday
Ged Knock, currently serving as a watch manager at Fire Service Headquarters, Bootle, was at the hotel swimming pool on June 1st 2018, when a boy was lifted unresponsive from the pool.
Ged, who was just feet away and saw what was happening, intervened.
He said: "A boy had just been lifted out by a teenager and there was a lady in distress. I went over to help."
"There was no pulse and the boy was completely lifeless. I performed around five or six cycles of mouth-to-mouth and chest compressions (CPR) on him."
“Eventually I managed to bring him around.”
The boy, believed to be from Dublin, was transferred to Palma Hospital and was released after two days.
Ged, who is from Liverpool and now lives in Skelmersdale, added: “As a firefighter I am trained in CPR. I’m used to doing it as part of the job and as a team – the only difference here was that I was on my own without any equipment.
“Wherever you are, the instinct to save lives just kicks in.”
Friend Peter Fry, who met Ged on holiday, posted on Facebook:
“Yesterday at the poolside an almost tragic accident unfolded in front of our very eyes. A small boy, five or six years old, was pulled completely lifeless with no pulse out of the pool with his mother screaming in sheer panic.
“It just so happened that my new friend Ged was just about to dive in for a swim just feet away from this poor little boy. He went straight to work on him, taking full control of the situation he gave him mouth-to-mouth and CPR and saved this little boy’s life.
“I’m welling up typing this message as it was the most frightening thing that I've seen."
Ged was just so professional about it all. He was brilliant and if he wasn't there at the time, God knows what the outcome could have been.”
A spokesperson for Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service said:
“We commend Ged’s actions during his holiday and are very proud to have him as a member of staff here at Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service.
“All of our firefighters undertake basic life support training, including CPR, and, as this case shows, it is an invaluable life-saving skill.