MIAMI (WSVN) - A 1-year-old boy is fighting for his life at the hospital after he nearly drowned in a backyard pool in Miami, fire rescue officials said.
Miami Fire Rescue and Miami Police units arrived at the scene off North Miami Avenue, near 62nd Street, Friday afternoon.
Investigators said someone called 911 just before noon.
Once at the scene, crews found the boy unresponsive, and two officers gave him CPR.
“Our officers attempted CPR on the child. Fire rescue came; they took over. We assisted in the escort to the hospital,” said Miami Police Capt. Freddie Cruz
7Skyforce hovered over the scene, where police cruisers and fire rescue surrounded the area.
According to fire rescue, the boy was found at the home’s pool by a family member. It’s not known how long he was in the pool.
Paramedics rushed the boy to Jackson Memorial Hospital for treatment.
“When we arrived, we found two female officers performing CPR on that 1-year-old child, and we continued those life-saving efforts all the way to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where hospital staff took over those efforts from there,” said Miami Fire Rescue Capt. Ignatius Carroll.
At some point, police said, the toddler was moved into the house, and there was an adult at home when the incident occurred.
As of Friday night, the child is listed in extremely critical condition.
“Our understanding right now is that the child is in very, very critical condition. Our prayers go out to the family,” said Cruz. “We still want to investigate, obviously, what were the circumstances, what parents were here, and that’s something that is still under investigation.”
While investigators figure out what happened in this case, they took the opportunity to offer tips to help families prevent similar drowning or near drowning incidents.
“When we respond to situations like these, a lot of it is lessons learned, you know, how these things can be prevented,” said Carroll. “When you’re dealing with pools, for those that need it, make sure you have those protective fences around there. When you have children that have the ability to wander off or able to open doors, you want to make sure they are being properly supervised. In this case, all these things will be looked into.”
No other injuries were reported.
An investigation is now underway.
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