DECATUR - Fairview Pool lifeguards were honored at the Decatur Park District meeting Wednesday, after they saved the life of a 31-year-old woman who was found floating face down the previous week.

District Director Bill Clevenger said he was so proud of the young lifeguards.

"You don't know how they're going to react," Clevenger said. "When they react so exceptionally, it is a really great feeling. It is comforting to know you have such exceptional young people."

The pool was jammed with children and families, on one of the hottest days of the year, when the lifeguards heard the blast of a whistle, signaling that someone needed immediate help.

As some lifeguards ran toward the center of the pool, they heard a second whistle blast, signifying that someone was unconscious.

Cody Acree, 19, saw the woman, lying face down in front of his chair. He asked nearby swimmers to tap on her. When she did not immediately respond, Acree jumped into the water, flipping the unconscious woman onto her back.

"Cody looked to see if she was breathing. She was not breathing," recalled lifeguard Alyssa Vieth, 22, of the incident that took place about 1:30 p.m. June 25.

With hearts racing, the corps of lifeguards swung into action.

Vieth raced through the crowd to retrieve the backboard, plunging into the pool to place the victim on it and pull her out. She checked for a pulse, but found none.

Acree and Vieth performed CPR together, with Acree compressing her chest as Vieth shot two quick breaths into her mouth. When Chip Thompson, 20, arrived with an oxygen tank, Vieth switched to oxygen, counting loudly between compressions.

After about five compression/oxygen combinations, the victim opened her eyes.

"I looked down, and she was blinking and looking around," Vieth said. "So we put her in the rescue position, on her side (so her airway would remain unobstructed)."

Recreation supervisor Jamie Davis said she believed the compressions cleared the woman's airway. It is believed that the woman had suffered a seizure. She was transported to a hospital by ambulance and later released.

Davis said her lifeguards train intensively before the season, emphasizing scanning every part of the pool, with weekly refresher sessions.

Thompson and Vieth, who were serving as managers on June 25, credited all the lifeguards for performing in an outstanding fashion.

"Every guard did exactly what they were supposed to do," Thompson said, adding that some cleared the pool, while others controlled the crowd.

"Cody was awesome, because he saw her," Vieth said. "We'd much rather you look stupid going in for someone that's not drowning than be wrong."

Other lifeguards commended for their actions during the incident were Brittany Childress, Alicia Elam, Kayla Henneberry, Blain Powell, Aspen Sprague and Evan Thompson.

hfreeman@herald-review.com|421-6985