Brighten Your Day

15-Year-Old Lifeguard Saves Toddler On His First Day

June 14, 2017

Last Thursday was 15-year-old Jack Viglianco's first day on the job as a lifeguard at the Charles A. Foster pool in Lakewood, Ohio.

"I heard like a 'Help, ah,' kind of thing. And I looked over and I saw a guy who's probably like 3 feet 6 inches, in the 4-foot water and gasping for air," Viglianco told Fox 8.

Jack Viglianco

The victim was a 4-year-old boy at the pool for a summer camp field trip. Viglianco said the young boy was bobbing up and down, screaming for help.

Not only was it Jack's first day on the job, it was only 20 minutes into his shift, when he had to put the lifesaving skills he had just learned to the test.

"Active drowners can still breathe, and they're still above water, but they are still in the act of drowning," said Viglianco.

"Jack activated our emergency response plan," Lakewood aquatics manager Matt Demaline said. "He got down off the chair and jumped in and helped the kid to safety. He had just completed ... a five-hour orientation the day before for all of our new and returning staff and we were ready to go, day one."

Jack said his first day on the job is one he'll never forget.

Watch the video below.