Dispatcher’s Instructions Give Baby a Second Chance at Life

WESTMINSTER-Fumiaki Fukui was frantic when he called 911 for help. He had just plucked his 16-month-old daughter from the bottom of a hot tub and she was not breathing.

“Baby drowned,” Fukui, an immigrant, said to dispatcher Michael Phillips in a call on Sunday. “Emergency.”

Phillips quickly calmed the distraught father and gave him instructions on how to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation until paramedics could arrive. For the next few crucial minutes, Fukui listened to Phillips and translated the information to his wife who worked on the infant.

The only problem came when Fukui didn’t understand instructions to blow two little “puffs of air” into the baby’s lungs. But by that time, enough had been done to get little Ginger Fukui breathing again.

On Monday Ginger was walking around Childrens Hospital of Orange County in good condition, soon to be released.

The following was taken from a transcript of the 911 call:

Dispatcher: OK, what’s the problem?

Fukui: Baby drowned.

Dispatcher: Is the baby still in the pool?

Fukui: No . . . baby . . . emergency . . . is out of water . . . my wife is. . . .

Dispatcher: OK, we’re on our way.

Fukui: OK, (8500 Block of) Heil.

Dispatcher: Is the baby breathing?

Fukui: No, no breathing.

Dispatcher: OK, you got to calm down.

Fukui: OK.

Dispatcher: OK, where is the baby now?

Fukui: (8500 Block of) Heil Avenue.

Dispatcher: Do you have the baby near you?

Fukui: Yeah, I have the baby with me.

Dispatcher: What you want to do is put the baby, OK, listen carefully, I’ll tell you what to do. Are you there?

Fukui: Yes.

Dispatcher: Place your hand under the child’s neck and shoulders and slightly tilt the head back.

Fukui: (Repeats to wife)

Dispatcher: Is there vomit in the mouth?

Fukui: Yes.

Dispatcher: There is?

Fukui: Yes.

Dispatcher: OK, you want to tilt the child’s head to the side and scoop the mouth out.

Fukui: (Repeats to wife.)

Dispatcher: We’re on our way.

Fukui: OK.

Dispatcher: What you want to do is cover the child’s nose and mouth with your mouth, OK?

Fukui: (Repeats to wife)

Dispatcher: Give two soft puffs.

Fukui: Give two soft. . . .?

Dispatcher: Puffs.

Fukui: Two soft what?

Dispatcher: Two soft puffs of air into the baby’s lungs.

Fukui: I beg your pardon?

Dispatcher: OK, cover the mouth and nose and give two small puffs of air.

Fukui: Two small puffs?

Dispatcher: Yes.

Fukui: I don’t understand.

Dispatcher: Is the chest raising? OK, are you holding the baby?

Fukui: No, my wife holding baby.

Dispatcher: OK, what you want to do is put the baby’s head, let the baby’s. . . .

Fukui: Oh, it start breathing.

Dispatcher: Pardon me? It started breathing?

Fukui: It started breathing.

Dispatcher: It is breathing?

Fukui: (Asks wife) Yes, it start breathing.

Dispatcher: The baby is breathing.

Fukui: It seems like it’s, it’s kind of weird the baby is kind of breathing.

Dispatcher: The baby is breathing. OK, you want to keep the head back a little bit so. . . .

Fukui: (Shouts to wife: “Is it still breathing?”)

Dispatcher: If the baby’s breathing, you don’t want to do anything.

Fukui: Yeah, it’s, it’s breathing.

Dispatcher: OK, just keep the head tilted back just slightly.

Fukui: OK.

Dispatcher: OK, just keep an eye on it, OK?

Fukui: OK.

Dispatcher: OK, we’re on our way, I’m just trying to help you out here.

Fukui: OK.

Dispatcher: OK, how you doing?

Fukui: Getting better.

Dispatcher: OK, is the baby getting any color?

Fukui: (Asks wife) I don’t know.

Dispatcher: OK, the baby is breathing, though?

Fukui: Oh, vomit.

(Baby cries.)

Fukui: It started crying.

Dispatcher: All right. Good. . . . She must have just fallen in, huh?. OK, how you doing?

Fukui: Very good.