Fire Crew Resuscitates Unresponsive Two-Week-Old Baby: 'Time Stood Still'

(Courtesy of City of Cape Town)

A Cape Town fire crew saved a tiny life when an unresponsive baby was brought into their fire station by his panicked parents.

A frantic family arrived at Belhar Fire Station on Oct. 9 with their 2-week-old baby boy in their arms; he was not breathing.

Station Commander Virgel Cloete told The Epoch Times via email that his expertly trained crew sprang into action to save the baby, who has apnea, a fatal sleep disorder that leads to repeated disrupted breathing.

Crew members from the Belhar Fire Station try to resuscitate the two-week-old baby on Oct. 9, 2020. (Courtesy of City of Cape Town)

"It must have been about 5 to 10 minutes before the baby started to breathe," Cloete said.

"It is difficult to provide an exact time," he added, "since our efforts were focused solely on reviving the infant and it actually felt like time stood still."

The crew administered oxygen and CPR while using an ECG monitor to assess the baby’s heart rate.

Besides Cloete, crew members Alroy Pieterse, Lushanne Conradie, Wade Brandt, Randall Solomons, and Noxolo Ngoma were credited with participating in the rescue effort. Once stable, the baby boy was transported to Tygerberg Hospital in Parow, Cape Town, in an ambulance.

(Courtesy of City of Cape Town)

"The baby is recovering well," said Cloete, adding that the crew hopes to follow up with the family in the future.

"The platoon commends the family for their quick reaction, which was instrumental in ensuring a happy ending to the story," he said.

Responding to the City of Cape Town's news release on Facebook, the baby boy's grandmother, Deborah Carelse, left a grateful comment.

"[Thanks] to the team for saving my grandchild's life," the grandmother wrote.

(Courtesy of City of Cape Town)

Carelse added that she hopes to live to see her grandson become a fireman or a paramedic himself one day.

It is not the first time that Belhar Fire Station crews have saved a tiny life.

On June 1, 2019, firefighters were called on to resuscitate another 2-week-old baby, Bronlyn-Lee Jansen, the City of Cape Town reported. Bronlyn-Lee’s frantic mother, Chantel, handed her choking daughter to the crew, who immediately cleared mucus from her airways and administered oxygen. Bronlyn-Lee regained her color and started crying within minutes.

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