JOPPA, Md. (WMAR) — CPR efforts by Harford County fire and rescue crews brought a drowning child back to life on Memorial Day.

The Joppa Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company said they got the call at 1:47 p.m. for an 11-year-old boy found unresponsive and not breathing inside a swimming pool at a home in the unit block of Neptune Drive.

While waiting for medics to respond, the 911 operator provided CPR instructions to the caller.

A few minutes later, a Joppa Magnolia volunteer who lives near the home showed up and began applying basic CPR until other units could arrive.

Approximately five minutes later, an ambulance was on scene. Medics continued life saving procedures throughout the journey to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air.

By the time they arrived, the child was once again breathing. Medical staff at the hospital stabilized the boy prior to calling for a helicopter to take him to Johns Hopkins Children Center, where he remains in critical condition.

Officials say the early application of CPR played a pivotal role in resuscitating the child.

