VALLEJO (KRON) — He was on vacation with his family, but that did not stop a Bay Area firefighter’s life-saving skills from taking over.

A Vallejo firefighter is home from Hawaii and sharing his story with KRON.

A walk to the beach with his wife and kids quickly turned chaotic for Ramon Villanueva. But thankfully, he was around to help save a woman’s life.

“It feels good,” Villanueva said. “It feels good to help people out and to know that they will be better after you leave their side.”

Back on the job just days after helping save an elderly woman’s life in Hawaii, the two-and-a-half year veteran of the Vallejo Fire Department, apprentice firefighter, and paramedic Villanueva recounts what could have been an overwhelming situation if not for his training and experience.

“We were on our way to the beach, just like a regular day in Hawaii,” Villanueva said.

They were on vacation on the island of Oahu. The family was vacationing at the Marriot Vacation Club, when on Saturday, Ramon noticed a woman laying face down in the water.

“Some other guy was bringing her up, bringing her in, so I handed my kid off to my wife. Went down there to assist,” Villanueva said.

By the time he reached her, Ramon said the woman was already in bad shape.

“Laid her on her back, checked for a pulse. She did have a pulse and she was breathing irregularly, having a hard time,” Villanueva said. “She was blue in the face.”

At least two other people, Ramon says, helped out but he was the most qualified in CPR.

Once in the sand, Ramon said he tilted the woman onto her side so she could spit out some of the water in her lungs before she was rushed to the hospital.

“It feels good to help people out and to know that they will be better after you leave their side,” Villanueva said.

The woman survived, and shortly after the incident, her daughter sent Ramon a handwritten letter, thanking him for saving her mother’s life.

“Words cannot express my gratitude for what you did yesterday,” the letter said. “If not for you, I would not have a mother today. Thank you for noticing something that was wrong and taking immediate action.”

“Truly…it brings a smile to your face, especially knowing the outcome that she was going to get out of the hospital,” Villanueva said.

The woman has been released from the hospital.