Mother and neighbor use CPR to rescue 7-year-old found at bottom of pool

Newport Beach firefighters are crediting the quick actions of a mother and a neighbor for helping to save the life of a 7-year-old boy who nearly drowned Thursday afternoon.

Firefighters rushed to a home in Newport’s Dover Shores neighborhood at 4:09 p.m. after the boy was found at the bottom of a pool, authorities said.

But when the first fire engine arrived at the home about 4 1/2 minutes later, the boy was out of the pool, awake and breathing, the Fire Department said.

The boy’s mother and a neighbor had pulled him from the water and performed CPR until he began breathing again, firefighters said.

Join the conversation on Facebook >>

“The quick thinking and CPR gave the child valuable treatment, enabling Newport Beach paramedics to further sustain the victim’s life and transport him to a local hospital,” the Fire Department said in a statement.

Authorities said they aren’t sure how the boy ended up at the bottom of the pool. They estimated he was underwater for less than a minute.

“Incidents such as this underscore the importance of having a designated lifeguard or adult supervise children when they are in or around water,” the Fire Department said. “It also demonstrated the value of bystander CPR.”

--

Jeremiah Dobruck, jeremiah.dobruck2@latimes.com

Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck