Article Contributed on: 5/22/2007 2:32:35 PM
At 2:40 p.m. on Sat., May 19, Westminster Fire and Police responded to a 911 call reporting an unconscious party. Upon arriving at the Toscana Apartments, 8490 Sheridan Blvd., first responders found a youth sitting on a pool chair, ashen and shaking. The youth reported jumping in the pool to cool off, inadvertently getting in too deep, unable to reach the edge or shallow water. The youth said, "I remembered someone pulling me from the pool, but I thought I was dead."
Cesa Iguado Gonzales,18, Alfonso Zuniza, 26, and Junior Simental,16, were riding bikes by the pool when they saw someone struggling in the water. They went in to help and found the youth lying motionless at the bottom of the pool. Gonzales jumped in and the three pulled the youth out of the pool together. Determining the party wasn't breathing, Gonzales performed CPR with instruction from Zuniza. Westminster Police and Fire soon arrived on scene; the youth was examined and treated by Westminster Fire Department paramedics and then transported to a local hospital. "Those guys saved that kid," said Paramedic Kelly Alvis, "[The youth] never would have made it if they hadn't jumped in to help."
The Westminster Fire Department would like to remind everyone to use caution when swimming; drowning is an all-to-common occurrence during summer months. A few tips include don't swim alone, use the buddy system, never leave children alone near water, and no diving into unknown bodies of water.