2 Lifeguards Rescue 4-Year-Old Girl at Germantown Pool

GERMANTOWN, Md. - Two Germantown lifeguards are being hailed as heroes after rescuing a four-year-old girl.

The near drowning happened around 12:30 p.m. Thursday at the Manchester Farms Pool in Germantown.

Parents are watching their kids even more closely after the close call and they can't imagine the terror her guardian must have gone through.

"It's unimaginable. I don’t want to be in her shoes. It’s really scary," said parent Wooley Kamara.

Lifeguards say one minute, the little girl was playing in the shallow end of the pool floating. Seconds later, she was face down on the bottom.

Lifeguard Katya first spotted her, jumped in and pulled the little girl out. Joe Garbini rushed to help. He says the toddler was already unconscious.

"She had a pulse, but no breath in her lungs. I motioned for somebody to go call 911 and I began preparing her for CPR," said Garbini.

Just then, something unexpected happened.

"After tilting her head back, she took a shallow breath on her own and finally she regained her own breath and began coughing and crying,” said Garbani. "After she started breathing, it was very good. It was a miracle."

The girl would survive. Parents at the pool were relieved to hear the news, but say the near drowning would make them even more cautious with their own kids.

"It's a good reminder that we’re supposed to be watching them all the time. It's easy to take your head away and just look away for a few seconds and they can go under,” said parent Jennifer Namazi.

"You never know what can happen. We've been here sometimes when there are 50 kids in the pool and it's hard for the lifeguards to watch all of them, so we always stay in the pool with our kids," said Matt Avery.

Katya is a student from Russia working here for the summer and a bit reluctant to talk on camera, but Garbani summed up for them both what it feels like to save a young life.

"It makes you feel good that you have done your job, but it's an eye opener. Every day, we're up here in the chairs watching kids and it can happen at any time, at any moment,” said Garbani.

The little girl remains hospitalized Thursday night in stable condition.