Hillsborough Teen Saves Boy, 7, From Drowning

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 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 in the fall.