Long Branch firefighter saves life of 6-day-old baby in distress
Firefighter David Phillips says the distressed family came rushing to the firehouse for help and handed him a “lifeless” baby.
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A Long Branch firefighter is being praised for saving the life of a 6-day-old baby.
Firefighter David Phillips says that the distressed family came rushing to the firehouse for help.
“All of a sudden, there was a really loud banging on our bay door where the fire apparatus is kept and our front door at the same time, simultaneously,” says Phillips. “There was yelling and screaming and a car horn beeping.”
He says there was a mother, a father and a teenage girl who were screaming and handed him a “lifeless” baby.
He says that the parents could not speak English, so the eldest daughter acted as a translator.
“I realized that the child was not breathing. The baby did have a pulse, and I immediately went into what we call ‘back blows’ to try to dislodge whatever was obstructing the baby's airway because that’s the most important thing,” says Phillips. “Once we got the airway back, I was able to clear the airway, secure the airway and shortly thereafter I felt her take a breath in my left hand.”
Phillips says he immediately gave the baby oxygen and called the ambulance.
Phillips’ superiors say they are proud of him and happy that he was in the right place at the right time to save a life.
