The City of Phoenix is in a mode of celebration after a team of lifeguards and the Cortez Pool aquatics staff were honored with Life Saving awards for their swift rescue of an unconscious 4-year-old child. The Phoenix Fire Department, led by Chief Mike Duran, alongside First District Councilwoman Ann O'Brien and the City of Phoenix Parks and Rec Department, presented the awards in a ceremony that doubled as a profound acknowledgment of the crucial role lifeguards play in community safety.
In a statement obtained by the City of Phoenix's newsroom, Councilwoman Ann O'Brien expressed the community’s deep appreciation, stating, “On Behalf of the entire community I want to extend our heartfelt gratitude for your incredible service. Your bravery not only saved the life of a young girl, but also reinforced the trust and confidence we have in our lifeguard team. Often when we think of first responders our minds immediately go to Police and Firefighters, but in our public pool's lifeguards are the first responders."
Desmi Cordell, a veteran lifeguard in her fourth summer with the City of Phoenix, highlighted the significance of regular and rigorous training in preparing her and her colleagues for emergencies. Cordell detailed the team's response to the incident, saying, "It really clicked, uh, we all kind of went ok, you go here you go there ok go! And then we just immediately went into our action plan and we did it successfully, it shows how much our training every Saturday really does kick in and it just makes me happier knowing that we know how to do our job, we do our job everyday and we can do it," according to the same news release.
Chief Duran mirrored Cordell’s sentiments on the exemplary training programs facilitated by the city for lifeguards. "I think this goes back to the wonderful training that our parks and aquatics department provide for our lifeguards obviously this is something very impactful to them because they followed every step that they were trained and performed to do so and yes, although they are young this goes back, again, this credit to the program that the City of Phoenix and aquatics department provides for our lifeguards and what they do, and the teams that they develop and train out here and monitor, to their staff to their managers and supervisors who are out there watching right, and supporting these folks so that they can make sure that our community is safe when they are here at the pool," Duran stated in a follow-up.
