DC Fire Honors Lifeguard Who Rescued 90-Year-Old Swimmer

WASHINGTON, DC — DC Fire and EMS honored a lifeguard at a ceremony on Tuesday for his role in rescuing a 90-year-old woman who had sunk to the bottom of a pool in Northwest D.C.

The rescue happened on July 28 at a community pool on Embassy Park Drive NW near Massachusetts Avenue in the Cathedral Heights neighborhood.

Inga Williams suffered a medical emergency while swimming and dropped to the bottom of the pool. Lifeguard Joshua Harris jumped in, rescued her and performed lifesaving CPR before members of DC Fire and EMS from Engine 20, EMS 5 and Medic 31 arrived on the scene.

Williams was taken to a local hospital for treatment and was released three days later.

"He saved my life," Williams said in a video released by DC Fire and EMS.

Both Williams and Harris attended Tuesday's ceremony at D.C. Engine Company 20 on Wisconsin Avenue in Northwest D.C. During the event, Harris recalled seeing Williams laying motionless at the bottom of pool in a section where it was 10 feet deep.

Harris said he performed a technique called deep-water-submerged rescue to help Williams rise back to the surface.

After successfully pulling her from the pool, Harris then performed CPR for 5 to 7 minutes until the medics arrived.

“Because of his prompt actions, a life was saved,” DC Deputy Fire Chief Gary Steen said at the ceremony Tuesday.