Hillsborough Teen Saves Boy, 7, From Drowning
Jake Burgess pulled child from bottom of North Brunswick pool, successfully resuscitated him.
HILLSBOROUGH, NJ -- Local resident Jake Burgess says that he wants to help people. That's why he has been a lifeguard for three years. It's also why he plans to become an EMT and eventually hopes to work in law enforcement.
As a lifeguard at the Hillsborough YMCA and through a company called Clear Blue, which stations him at different pools in the region, the 17-year-old has made plenty of saves before.
But none were like the one last Monday in North Brunswick, at Governor's Pointe condominium complex, when he pulled a boy from the bottom of a pool, performed CPR on the child and resuscitated him before the EMTs or police had even arrived.
He saved the child's life.
"It was extremely stressful," Burgess said. "But my training prepared me for it. I knew what to do...I saw the young boy at the bottom of the pool and I pulled him up; he wasn't breathing. I performed CPR."
The boy, 7, was transported to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick, where, according to NJ.com, the boy was admitted into the hospital's pediatric unit.
Burgess said the parents of child, who has made a full recovery, stopped by the pool on his day off, so he has not yet spoken with them, but they plan to meet up soon when he'll also have the chance to speak to the child he saved.
Burgess said this experience will be helpful when he has to deal with similar situations in the future.
"It's a great feeling to know you've been able to help someone and to know you've made a difference," he said.
Burgess will start his senior year at Hillsborough High School in the fall.
In This article
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Hillsborough Family YMCA
19 E Mountain Rd, Hillsborough, NJ -
Hillsborough High School
466 Raider Blvd, Hillsborough, NJ
John D
11:12 pm on Sunday, July 15, 2012
Wow! Way to go Jake. Great to hear a story about a young person doing something positive. Keep up the good work!
Jim Bennett
8:58 am on Monday, July 16, 2012
Way to be there Jake! Experiences like yours will be life altering for you as a future leader, but more importantly it was life enabling for the boy you saved! I'm sure both of you realize how important your training was. Keep it up!
Judith Ferrazzano
9:24 am on Monday, July 16, 2012
Kudos to you, Jake! You are a real hero!
G. P. Callea
11:45 am on Monday, July 16, 2012
Awesome! WTG, Jake! Makes me proud to be a former Jerseyan. Keep up the great work and good luck in Law Enforcement.
Gene Domowicz
11:54 am on Monday, July 16, 2012
Jake, that's incredible! I'm sure your Mom and Dad are so proud of you. I'm not surprised and so proud to know you too.
Sheriffchris
12:30 pm on Monday, July 16, 2012
Here we have a young man who is still in High School, when met with a life or death situation. He responded as well as anyone could have possibly wanted and saved a young boys life. I really enjoy reading Good News stories about our youth...Great Job
Jake
D. Rimkunas
12:32 pm on Monday, July 16, 2012
What a terrific thing you've done Jake! Good luck to you in your senior year of school and beyond. Keep on being an excellent young man!
DiRuggieros
1:15 pm on Monday, July 16, 2012
Jake,
Few could imagine how difficult this is to do. It takes more than just training. You have proven you have the rest; a cool head and a big heart. We could not be any prouder of you. Love, Aunt Andrea and Uncle Roger
A&K Burgess
1:21 pm on Tuesday, July 17, 2012
They couldn't have said it better. We, too, are so proud of such an awesome nephew. Love, Uncle Ken & Aunt Anne
Dawn Duncan
4:36 pm on Monday, July 16, 2012
Way to go Jake!!! Great job
Charles
6:44 pm on Monday, July 16, 2012
Why wasn't anyone watching? Most lifeguards would have seen the boy struggling for help, why didn't Jake see this?
Rosemarie30
7:32 pm on Monday, July 16, 2012
Charles - Not every child struggles. I've seen many go under with no notice at all. I guess you would need to be an experienced one to know that. Awesome job Jake!
Aileen Johnston Barrios
10:43 pm on Monday, July 16, 2012
Way to go Jake. I am so proud of you. You kept so calm in a difficult situation and made a difference! Awesome.
Papa John's
6:39 pm on Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Great save, Jake!
Cam
6:54 pm on Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Way to go Jake!
Parents, this is a great link on what a drowning really looks like: http://www.rd.com/advice/parenting/8-quiet-signs-of-someone-drowning/
Copy and paste it into your browser and read it. Drowning is almost always a quiet event, not the thrashing they show on TV.
The greatest gift you can give your children is swim lessons. Take your children to the local Y and sign them up for swim lessons. And when you take them to a busy pool, watch them in the water. ~Proud parent of 2 lifeguards