http://www.afscme.org/blog/new-haven-911-dispatcher-saves-drowning-boyby Jon Melegrito | July 19, 2011
“We were all doing our job as a team,” says David Mancini, a member of Local 884 (Council 4), who credits family members and his co-workers at New Haven, Connecticut’s 911 Emergency Communications Center for saving the life of a child. “We performed CPR as a team approach, so we were able to keep the child alive until emergency crews got to the scene.”
New Haven, Connecticut, 911 dispatcher David Mancini directed a 4-year-old boy's family to perform CPR until paramedics arrived. (Photo courtesy News 8)
Mancini, 43, was working at his normal post as a 911 dispatcher one morning last week when a call came about a 4-year-old boy who had fallen into a pool. As reported by New Haven’s News 8, family members pulled the boy out of the water then called 911. Mancini fielded the call and directed a 20-year-old family member to successfully perform CPR on the child.
“The older boy was in a panic, so I had to calmly talk him through the procedure, step by step,” says Mancini. “It was important to make him part of the team, and keep him focused until the EMTs arrived.”
Mancini and his co-workers at the fire department’s communications center respond to a myriad of emergencies every day. A 15-year veteran, he has assisted in the delivery of babies and once helped rescue a disabled man in a wheelchair who was caught in a house fire.
Like public workers across the country, Mancini considers his job a vital service to the community. “Our members enjoy what they do and they are proud to serve,” says Ronald Hobson, president of Local 884. “They work together as a team.”