9-Year-Old Danbury Boy Helps Save Baby Sister's Life

A 9-year-old boy in Danbury helped save his infant sister while she was choking by staying calm and relaying instructions the 911 dispatcher was giving to his mother. 

The baby’s mother found the 1-month-old wasn't breathing and began to yell for help. At 1:16 p.m., the boy told his mom not to panic and said he knew what to do before he dialed 911 for his mother, according to police.   

The mother was frantic and handed the phone to her son, who told the dispatcher that the baby was choking on vomit.

"She isn't breathing and she isn't making any noises," the boy told the dispatcher.

The dispatcher gave instructions to place the baby down flat, kneel down next to her and check her mouth to see if anything was blocking her airway.

"Place your hand on the baby’s forehead, your other hand under the baby’s neck and shoulders and slightly tilt the head back," the dispatcher instructed. "Put your ear next to her mouth, OK?"

"Could you please repeat that?" the boy asked, calmly and then told the instructions to his mother, who performed them. The dispatcher gave the instructions again and asked the boy if he could hear anything.

"I hear her sort of moaning," the brother said and told the dispatcher he could hear his baby sister breathing.

"Yes, she’s breathing," he said.

The dispatcher remained on the line with the boy until first responders arrived. 

"It was amazing. Hopefully, in a couple of years he wants to be a dispatcher," James Gagliardo of the Danbury Fire Department said about the boy. "He kept a really good composure. He was able to help us, he was very confident and comfortable throughout the whole phone call and he really made a big difference."

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