Neighbor Revives Girl, 1, After She Nearly Drowns in Bathtub

A 1-year-old girl was in stable condition Monday afternoon after she was found in a bathtub and revived by a neighbor, authorities said.

Fire officials said Iris Cuevas was the ninth infant near-drowning victim brought to Children’s Hospital of Orange County this month and the fourth within a week.

The infant’s mother, Maria Ramirez, told police that she left Iris alone in the bathtub for less than a minute and returned to find her in the bathwater not breathing.

“She grabbed the child and ran outside of her apartment screaming and crying, ‘My baby is dying,’ ” County Fire Capt. Dan Young said.

Richard Hahn, a resident of the apartment complex on the 17000 block of Kenyon Drive, heard Ramirez calling and took the infant in his arms and started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

“I said to myself, ‘Tilt the head back, pinch off the nose,’ and started getting some air into her lungs,” Hahn said. “I just focused on the kid.”

After about nine puffs of air, Hahn said he could hear Iris’ labored breathing. Paramedics arrived and gave Iris oxygen. Soon after, Iris started to cry.

“That was quite a relief. . . . The paramedics said that was the best sign,” Hahn said.

“(Hahn) seems to have made all the difference in the infant surviving,” Young said.

Iris was taken to Healthcare Medical Center in Tustin and later transferred to Children’s Hospital for observation, Young said.

“These near-drownings are a very common problem,” Young said. “When it comes to infants, you can’t turn your back on them for a minute. . . . A minute is a long time for an infant not to be breathing. People need to take that extra moment to put their child in a safe location.”