A Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue crew is offering up some good news—after responding to a home and potentially saving a young life.
Fire Rescue Crew R246 went to a home in Broward County to offer medical assistance to an infant in need. After providing care, the officers saw a potential hazard that could threaten the child’s life.
Infants of financially burdened families, or unwary parents, sometimes find themselves sleeping in grownup accommodations—in beds with blankets and pillows intended for adults—posing a potential risk of SIDS (or sudden infant death syndrome).
During the call, the officers, who are trained in “Direct On Scene Education” intended to prevent potential infant deaths, saw the infant at the residence lacked a safe crib to sleep in.
“The crew went in for a medical call and through their training identified, with the infant that was in the house, there was no safe place for that infant to be sleeping,” Battalion Chief Steve Gollan told The Epoch Times.
After giving the crib to the family, they were “overwhelmed” and “almost in tears,” he said. “The impact is that you’re saving a life. A lot of times, when people think of heroes, when they think of life saving capabilities, they’re thinking of after the fact.”
Chief Gollan added, “With this program that we’ve initiated, it allows them to save a life before it gets to that stage.
“Our SIDS cases have almost dropped to nothing, based upon this program.
“Before, we were seeing between 4 to 6 SIDS cases a year, and now we may see zero to one a year. It truly is making a difference in the community.”
