Every lifeguard knows that there could be a time when they have to act quickly and save someone from drowning.
"As I tell them, you never know when it's going to happen," said David Albornoz, Lifeguard Supervisor at St. Paul's Como Park Pool. "You might go your whole life and never have a rescue, but then, in one instant, that can change."
That instant came for Abornoz and two teenage lifeguards on Sunday afternoon.
"Extremely proud. That is life changing," Albornoz said. "It's a traumatic event but one that they are going to look back on in the future and be extremely proud of, because they were ready."
Albornoz says a 16-year-old, first year life guard spotted the first sign of trouble just before 4:30 p.m. He noticed a four year old girl had slipped below the surface in just three feet of water.
The teen blew his whistle and pulled the young girl out of the water. As he brought her to the edge of the pool, Albornoz says a 19 year old female lifeguard joined in the rescue effort.
"One is performing compressions, the other one is doing rescue breathing," Albornoz said. "I was the third. I'm holding the head, making sure that the breaths are going in and we're being effective."
Another lifeguard at the pool called 911 and St Paul Fire and EMS arrived five minutes later.
"When we do CPR, we ask the guards, 'When do you stop doing CPR?' The answer is never," Albornoz said. "You do not stop. You keep doing it until EMS arrive, or she comes alive. She was unconscious. She had no breathing, no pulse, and we were able to bring her back."
St. Paul paramedics tell KARE 11 the girl was responsive on the way to the hospital, and they later returned to the pool to thank the lifeguards.
"I happened to be around and I'm glad for that, but they're the real heroes," Albornoz said. "They did a fantastic job. To be a 16 year old kid and know that you saved someone else's life, I can only imagine. They saved that little girl's life."
St. Paul Fire and EMS tell KARE 11 they plan to recognize the lifeguards with Life Saving Awards in the coming days. They'll also recognize the entire team for their quick action clearing the pools and calling 911.