A crew of five City lifeguards rescued a Bronx man who collapsed in knee-deep water at Orchard Beach on July 29. “We saw him wade out and suddenly he collapsed face down into the water,” said lifeguard supervisor Neil Veloz. “When we reached him and pulled him out, he had no pulse and wasn’t breathing.”

 

Lifeguards, Andriy Kapys and Arlene Suvana, pulled the victim, Joachin Rosado, 33, from the water. Immediately, additional lifeguards, Julio Benjamin and Troy Washington, began CPR to resuscitate Rosado. However, Veloz said when they used a defibrillator, he had no shockable heart rhythm.

 

The lifeguards then began a cycle of cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, using a Bag Valve Mask (BVM) to pump air into Rosado’s lungs. Soon, they saw signs of life return even as the victim lay on a backboard, semi-unconscious.

 

FDNY paramedics from the Local 2507 arrived in an all-terrain gator and rushed Rosado to a waiting ambulance that sped him to Jacobi Medical Center.

 

Doctors sedated the near-drowned Rosado and placed him in ICU in critical condition. Hooked to a ventilator and clinging to life, he gradually improved after three days.

 

With 22 years behind him as a Parks’ department lifeguard, Veloz, who is the borough’s lifeguard coordinator, said he’s made countless rescues. He checked on Rosado daily, calling doctors sometimes twice a day.

 

“I always check on our rescues,” Veloz said. “I was relieved when the doctors said he was going to make it and has no apparent permanent damage.”

 

Seven days after nearly drowning, Rosado checked himself out of Jacobi, and phoned the lifeguards at Orchard Beach to thank them for saving his life.

 

Franklyn Paige is president of City lifeguards at Local 461. “This rescue was a success because of teamwork and all the advanced training and preparation the Parks’ department gives City lifeguards,” he said.

 

Above 90-degree temperatures drove huge crowds of New Yorkers to Orchard Beach, and to other public shores to seek relief from an intense heat wave the last week of July.

 

City lifeguards at Local 461, members of United in District Council 37 (DC 37), part of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, and lifeguard supervisors in Local 508 keep watch over tens of thousands of pool and beach goers each day during the summer months. Most city lifeguards are seasonal Parks’ department employees who work from Memorial Day through the first week of September.

 

This year, the COVID-19 pandemic forced a delayed July 1 opening of City beaches, and City pools opened July 23. According to Veloz, the pandemic also led Parks’ brass to add extra rescue training and protocols, like use of the BVM bag to protect lifeguards against unnecessary exposure to the coronavirus.

 

Veloz, who quarterbacked the July 29 rescue, said, “In emergency events like this, our training automatically kicks in. It’s great to see these young lifeguards spring into action, and use everything we teach them in our daily drills become second nature to them.”

 

Peter Stein is president at Local 508. “We applaud the lifeguards who saved this man’s life,” Stein said. “They are the youngest of our City’s unsung heroes of first responders. City lifeguards and supervisors are always ready to save and protect lives at public pools and beaches – even as the deadliest pandemic in our lifetime rages on.”