ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Two young boys are in a hospital recovering after nearly drowning in two different local hotel pools Wednesday afternoon.
Orange County Fire Rescue said the first call came in around 1:30 p.m. at the Sheraton Orlando Lake Buena Vista hotel. OCFR said a 6-year-old boy was swimming and nearly drowned. He was unresponsive when he was pulled out of the pool.
Bystanders, including a nurse who was at the hotel, initiated CPR. They revived the boy, who was having difficulty breathing. The child was sent to a hospital in fair condition.
The hotel released the following statement:
We are aware of a situation that was reported today. The safety and security of our guests and employees is always a top priority. Because this matter is under investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment further.
An hour later, OCFR responded to another near drowning call at the Tuscany Village Hilton hotel near International Drive. Fire officials said a 5-year-old boy, whose family was visiting from North Carolina, was in the pool for an unknown amount of time.
A family friend pulled the child out of the pool in four feet of water.
Dr. Jordan Weinstein was at the pool during the second incident. He is visiting from Chicago when he realized what was happening.
"I was just hanging out at the pool and my girlfriend saw somebody that she thought was drowning and ran over to the area," Weinstein said.
The doctor said his instincts kicked in.
"Kid dying in front of me, I need to save him," he said.
The doctor started performing chest compressions on the child for five minutes until paramedics arrived.
"Started CPR, he started coughing up water, so I knew that was a good sign. Started breathing on his own, got his own pulse, so I figured that was a good sign," Weinstein said.
Weinstein said he is glad he was there at the right time.
"When people have a positive outcome after all of this, you realize what you can do helps," he said.
OCFR said these were two very close calls. Spokesman Michael Jachles said these incidents stress the importance of knowing CPR and how it can save lives.
"So often we see a tragic outcome, but hopefully both children will do well," Jachles said.
Jachles said the 6-year-old boy is in good condition. He described the 5-year-boy as in serious to fair condition.