No ambulance available: Miss. firefighters took action to save 3-year-old who fell in pool

A Columbus toddler is making a “miraculous” recovery after being rushed to the emergency room by firefighters who feared the ambulance coming from another county wouldn’t reach him in time.

The 3-year-old boy accidentally fell backward into a swimming pool Saturday and would have likely died if not for the quick thinking of firefighters, said Joe Dillon, public information officer for the city of Columbus.

The initial 911 call came in at 11:39 a.m. Saturday, Dillon said. Ambulance services and firefighters with Columbus Fire & Rescue were dispatched at the same time.

Firefighters arrived on scene three minutes after the call out. The toddler had been found lifeless in the pool. He was unresponsive and not breathing when help arrived. Firefighters began CPR and, one minute later, a second fire engine arrived.

But an ambulance wasn’t available in Lowndes County. According to Neil Austin, fire coordinator for Lowndes County, 911 dispatchers contacted Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle for an ambulance but none were available.

“We dispatched BHM, BHM contacted 911 with no trucks available,” Austin said. “Then 911 turned around and called for mutual aid from Clay County at at BHM’s request.”

BHM-GT is the only ambulance provider in Lowndes County. The ambulances and personnel are owned and operated by BMH-GT while Tennessee-based Priority Ambulance provides support to management per a master services agreement, said Amanda Jennings, director of marketing and communications for Priority Ambulance.

Firefighters on scene decided the toddler didn’t have time to wait. Eight minutes after they arrived on scene, they put the toddler in a firetruck and headed toward BMH-GT with a full police escort, continuing CPR on the way, Dillon said.

Six minutes later, they arrived at the hospital.

Megan Pratt, marketing director for BHM-GT, said the hospital was “adequately staffed” with four ambulances Saturday but received an influx of calls within the same time span as the near drowning.

Within that hour, there were seven calls that all required patients to be transported to the emergency room via ambulance.

Pratt said instances like Saturday’s happen “very rarely.”

BMH-GT personnel made the decision to transport the boy to University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson for further treatment. However, due to the strong winds Saturday, all emergency helicopters were grounded and the child was transported via ambulance, Dillon said.

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