March 18, 2011

EAST HARTFORD LEGISLATORS HONOR
LIFEGUARDS FOR HELPING SAVE GIRL’S LIFE

East Hartford legislators honored two lifeguards Wednesday for helping to save the life of a 1-year-old girl last summer at a town swimming pool.

During a ceremony on the floor of the state House chambers, Nino Pettinato and Laura Sobolewski received a Connecticut General Assembly citation from Reps. Henry Genga (D-East Hartford), Jason Rojas (D-East Hartford, Glastonbury, Manchester) and Timothy Larson (D-East Hartford, South Windsor).

In another ceremony earlier on the Senate floor, Sen. Gary LeBeau (D-East Hartford) gave a citation to the East Hartford lifeguards.

The lifeguards found the girl who had a seizure and stopped breathing July 18 at Drennan Pool in East Hartford. The lifeguards attended to her until emergency medical technicians arrived on the scene and transported her to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center where she was treated for an undisclosed medical condition and eventually released.

In recognizing the life-saving efforts, Genga presented the citation to the lifeguards and spoke on the House floor. “We have two living heroes here whose quick work and dedication helped save the life of a little girl,” Genga said.

“The importance of training and staying calm during an emergency really paid off in this situation where Laura and Nick intervened to save a child who was under their watch,” Rojas said. “I and the child’s family couldn’t be more grateful to the both of them.”

“I’m very impressed with their level of dedication and commitment to safety in our public pools,” Larson said.