By Glenn Hicks

Unconscious 9-year-old rescued at Kinsmen Water Park

Aug 2, 2018 | 6:20 PM

Lifeguards at the Kinsmen Water Park successfully rescued an unconscious nine-year-old child in the water park’s main pool Wednesday afternoon.

According to the City of Prince Albert, the aquatics staff successfully administered CPR to the unconscious child, who was alert when paramedics from Parkland Ambulance arrived. The child was taken to Victoria Hospital for additional treatment, accompanied by an adult family member.

“Our training is a key investment,” Director of Community Services Jody Boulet told paNOW. ” While we did have an initial response by one our lifeguards, it really became a team effort once the child was brought out of the pool safely and CPR got underway. We’re pleased with the response and the result.”

The decision was made to close the water park in the wake of the incident and through today to allow for an investigation into the matter and to debrief staff members.

“We want to make sure our staff are in the right state of mind when they’re at their posts,” Boulet said. “We also issued re-entry passes to patrons who were there. For some of them it would have been stressful to experience, maybe at a distance, this sort of situation, but everyone was helpful and respectful of the instructions that were given.” He added the child was recovering and the family could “get on with their summer in a positive way.”

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Boulet said staffing numbers at the Kinsmen Water Park can fluctuate based on how busy it is but there were minimum numbers of trained people at the various sections “totalling upwards of ten individuals on a shift if it’s busy.”

He reminded the public of the park’s adult supervision policy, which requires all children under age eight to be accompanied by an adult. They must be within arm’s reach of an adult chaperone at all times.

Meanwhile Parkland Ambulance Paramedics sent their congratulations to the City of Prince Albert aquatics staff. 

“If it wasn’t for their quick response, this event would not have been such a success,” Lyle Karasiuk said in a media release. “First Responders like the aquatics staff can be an important piece of the chain of survival. This event illustrates their positive and life saving role. Congratulations to the City of Prince Albert Aquatics team, job well done!”

With files from Taylor MacPherson 

glenn.hicks@pbg.ca

On Twitter: @princealbertNOW