LAUDERDALE-BY-THE-SEA, Fla. — Two South Florida first responders were honored for saving a young boy’s life.
Broward Fire Rescue’s Broderick Espinoza and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Lt. Jesus Fuentes were recognized during Tuesday night’s Lauderdale-by-the-Sea commission meeting for their quick actions following a near-drowning during Memorial Day weekend.
“I’m just truly blessed that he’s alive and well, here with us,” said Espinoza. “Honestly it was all a blur, I was just really focused. I didn’t really know anyone was around us.”
Body camera footage captured the frantic moments after 5-year-old Tyler Nelson was pulled from a pool at the Plunge Beach Resort on May 24.
At the time, Tyler had no pulse so the off-duty Espinoza immediately started CPR.
Fuentes and two off-duty nurses also jumped in to help.
Within minutes, Tyler regained a pulse and started to breathe again.
“It’s just a humbling experience,” said Fuentes. “At the end of the day, we didn’t do anything that anybody with our training wouldn’t do. Our training just took over.”
Tyler spent two days in the ICU before being released with a clean bill of health.
His mother said she would forever be grateful to those who saved her son’s life.
“They’re angels, they allowed God to literally use them to be a vessel to save my son,” said Markita Pittman-Nelson. “I mean, two firefighters and two nurses, what more could a person ask for.”
Added Fuentes: “I understand it as a parent myself, I understand how emotional it is for her to still have Tyler around and how grateful she is to us. Like I said, at the end of the day, it’s nothing that we think of. It’s nothing that we make a big deal out of, we’re just doing our duty.”
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