Vandenberg Hot Shot saves infant?s life

by Senior Airman Stephen Cadette 30th Space Wing Public Affairs

Copyright to AFSPC - Read the original story at
http://www.afspc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123022294

6/22/2006 - VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  "Some firefighters wait their whole careers to save a baby?s life, so it?s quite an accomplishment for Lupe,? said Andrew Kline, Vandenberg Hot Shots firefighter. ?His life will be forever changed.?

He?s talking about his fellow wildland firefighter, Lupe Covarrubias, who was at a Wal-Mart in Lompoc, Calif., May 6 at the same moment a 1-month-old infant had passed out from choking.

A cry came from the pharmacy that day as he was shopping with his family. Mr. Covarrubias saw 12 people who seemed to be panicking surrounding the pharmacy counter.

He peeked over someone?s shoulder. In the center of the crowd, a dark-haired woman wailed, bouncing an infant in her arms. The baby?s face was dark blue, her eyes pinched shut.

As the crowd stood by in shock, Mr. Covarrubias pushed through to the mother.

?She seemed like her eyes were going to pop out of her head,? the Lompoc native said.

Mr. Covarrubias told her he was an emergency medical technician and took the dying infant in his hands. He said everything suddenly became surreal.

?I didn?t know if it was just me getting into the zone,? he said, ?but everything went silent. When I started to resuscitate her, it was like second nature, like clockwork.?

The firefighter put the infant on his arm, face down. Her head dipped toward the ground at a 45-degree angle. The fluid in her throat and mouth began to drain.

He said a hand appeared out of no where with a suction device. He grabbed the turkey-baster-like object to suck fluid from the baby?s mouth and nose. It all happened so fast, he attributes his reactions to his training.

?How they teach you is just, boom,? he said, snapping his fingers. ?You don?t even think about it.?

What is amazing about Mr. Covarrubias? training is that he was still a student at the time. The day he saved the baby?s life, he was enrolled in the emergency medical technician course in Santa Barbara, Calif. His reputation as a dedicated student made it no surprise to his fellow firefighters that he could come to the baby?s aid.

?All of the training he?s done in Santa Barbara has paid off with his focus and attention in class,? Mr. Kline said. The day of the rescue, Mr. Kline had been teaching as an EMT trainer in Santa Maria, Calif. On his radio scanner, he heard a call for paramedics to respond to an emergency at the Lompoc Wal-Mart.

Only a half-hour later, he got a phone call from Mr. Covarrubias.

?I called him to make sure I did everything right,? Mr. Covarrubias said. ?First I told him what I did, and he said, ?yep, that?s what you?re supposed to do.? Then I told him what had happened and he couldn?t believe it.?

Mr. Kline said he was surprised at the coincidence that the call he heard on his scanner was the one Mr. Covarrubias responded to. But he said he wasn?t surprised that his friend and co-worker rose to the level of hero, yet modestly accepted praise. When the store manager offered Mr. Covarrubias a store gift certificate, the firefighter turned down the offer.

?I wasn?t looking for a crown or anything,? he said. ?That?s why I?m here, to save lives. That?s my job.?

Mr. Covarrubias is in his third fire season on the job with the Vandenberg Hot Shots. Knowing how to save a baby from choking to death might not be what one would expect from someone who fights wildfires, but for the life of one little girl, it made all the difference.