Bystanders save boy from near drowning at Rockville pool

A Memorial Day trip to the pool turned scary for a 7-year-old boy when he nearly drowned. Fortunately, there were two Good Samaritans close by when it happened.

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue crews were called to a community pool in the 1600 block of Yale Place in Rockville on Monday afternoon. Relatives tell FOX 5 the boy, who is 7 years old, may have hit his head on the pool as he was jumping in. They believe he lost consciousness and went under, and may have been at the bottom of the pool for about a minute.

FOX 5's Paul Wagner reports Cecile Alemany, a nurse, and Doug Pierce, a father of three and a former lifeguard, were there to help rescue and save the boy from drowning.

Pierce was nearby in the water with his kids when the boy went under. He saw a lifeguard stand up and point down into the pool. Pierce reached down and grabbed the boy's lifeless body from the bottom and brought him back up to the surface.

"There were plenty of kids in there, so to notice one kid was missing or gone or down, he probably saved his life by reacting as quickly as he did," said Alemany.

Pierce said the boy didn't have a pulse. He and Alemany, who also happened to be at the pool, took turns giving him CPR, and eventually, the boy regained consciousness.

"It was pretty quick, but in my mind, by the time we had gotten him up, I was actually pretty calm," said Pierce. "Something just said he was going to be alright."

The boy was taken to the hospital by ambulance and is in serious, but stable condition.