New City Child Recovering from Near-Drowning in Family Pool

After 21 years as a 911 dispatcher for the Clarkstown Police Department, Beverly Brooks has helped many people get through a crisis when they call for help. But she says the call she received around 5 p.m. Tuesday is one she'll never forget.

"It's only just now starting to sink in everything that happened," said Brooks, 47, who today is being hailed by police and paramedics for her role in saving the life of a 1-year-old New City boy who fell into the family's backyard pool and nearly drowned.

Clarkstown Police Chief Peter Noonan said Brooks and the department's 12 other 911 dispatchers routinely handle calls for emergency medical assistance and provide life-saving directions in the minutes before police and medical personnel can get to a home or accident scene. However, Noonan said Tuesday's near-drowning had many complicating factors that could have led to a tragic ending if not for Brooks' calm, professional handling of the incident.

"This was definitely a difficult situation, but Dispatcher Brooks handled it terrifically and it had a happy ending," Noonan said.

Brooks' work was especially noted when police officials reviewed the dramatic 911 recordings for the accident at 6 Orient Court, where a 1-year-old boy had fallen into the pool while his 37-year-old mother had stepped inside her home for a moment. The boy's 7-year-old sister was in the backyard, too, and called her mother for help when her brother fell into the pool.

Police said the sister was able to hold her brother's head above water until the mother got back to the pool. As the mother pulled the boy out of the pool, police said the 7-year-old went to the phone and dialed 911.

On the recording of the 911 call, the 7-year-old can be heard pleading for help with Brooks as the mother is clearly frantic and screaming in the background.

"Breathe, please breathe, c'mon," the girl could be heard saying as she watched her mother trying to revive the boy.

Brooks said that despite the confusion of the situation, she was able to get the 7-year-old to tell her the basic information needed to understand what was happening. While Brooks was on the line with the girl, she said that fellow dispatchers Brian Duddy and Doris Quinones were communicating with police officers, members of Rockland Paramedics and the New City Volunteer Ambulance and Rescue Corps to get them to the home.

On the recordings, Brooks is heard successfulling getting the 7-year-old to describe what was happening, and then turn the phone over to her mother.

"I was very surprised how well the 7-year-old did," Brooks said today. "She did a really good job."

Brooks said she has had experiences before with children calling 911 for help. She said the children frequently respond well to the directions they are given.

The 911 recordings reveal that when the girl got her mother to the phone, the mother was frantic and the 1-year-old was not breathing. Brooks told the mother an ambulance was on the way and starting giving the mother instructions on steps she needed to take to help the boy.

At the end of the 5-minute, 51-second recording, the sounds of the boy crying — and even sneezing — could be heard, along with the relief in the mother's voice and the sounds of an ambulance pulling up to the house. During the call, Brooks successfully instructed the mother to use short breaths in mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and then put the boy on his side so he would not choke as he vomited water.

The boy was treated by paramedics Bernadette Frae and Kevin Nenin of Rockland Paramedics and was taken by New City Ambulance volunteers to Nyack Hospital for treatment. Today, the boy was recovering and was under observation at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, according to police and paramedics.

The names of the child and his family were not released by police.

"The baby was awake, but lethargic when we got there," Frae said. "A very tragic incident turned out very well because of the 7-year-old, Beverly and the instructions that were given."

After the 1-year-old was taken to the hospital, Frae said she called Brooks at the police department to congratulate her for her work.

"I didn't realize just how great a job she did until I heard the tape of the call," said Frae. "Her instructions were clear and concise."

Orient Court resident Maxine Drach said she saw the family being helped by emergency medical personnel Tuesday evening.

"I came home after the fact, but I saw the ambulance, the mother and (the 1-year-old) get in," Drach said. "I heard the little girl helped get him out of the pool. Thank goodness everything was alright."

Noonan said Tuesday's accident was an example of how emergency calls are handled through the police department's dispatch center. He said that 911 dispatchers are trained to obtain vital information that will help first responders be prepared when they arrive at an emergency scene. Additionally, he said the dispatchers are trained to provide life-saving directions to help a caller take action immediately.

"People expect that once they get through they are going to be put on hold," said Noonan. "That's not what happens."

In dealing with calls such as the near-drowning incident, Brooks said her experience and training helped her cope with the tears and cries for help on the other end of the line and to take the right action.

"The importance of getting the job done cuts through the franticness," Brooks said.

As a result of her efforts Tuesday, Clarkstown and Rockland County officials are planning to honor Brooks for her work. The Clarkstown Town Board has tentatively set Sept. 14 to honor Brooks and County Legislature Member Ed Day, R-New City, is slated to honor Brooks at the Legislature in October.

"What amazes me is the consistency in which all the dispatchers respond to calls," said Clarkstown Town Supervisor Alex Gromack after hearing the recording of Tuesday's 911 call. "The very best people are answering these calls. A lot of teamwork is involved."

Here is that staff of Clarkstown's 911 dispatch center:

Karl Muller

Beverly Brooks

Laurie Sharkey

Richard Cummings

Lorraine Monahan

Seth Needleman

Kristy Sanfratello

Doris Quinones

MaryFrancis Ginnity-Zayas

Robert Zayas

Brian Davidson

Jason Disalvo

Brian Duddy