Addison firefighter saves infant from Fox River

A longtime Addison firefighter-paramedic was fishing at the right place at the right time on the Fox River Tuesday afternoon and when he saw a screaming mother pluck a blue baby from the water, he knew what to do.

“I heard a woman yelling and screaming. She came running out toward the river and ran right into the river,” said 53-year-old Joel Arnier, an 18-year Addison firefighter-paramedic.

As he watched the woman rush to her infant daughter, who was floating about 15 feet from the shore, he knew the girl was in trouble.

“When I saw her pick up the baby, I said, ‘I gotta get in there,'” Arnier explained Tuesday afternoon. “I knew it was unresponsive completely. She was completely blue. Just a rag doll.”

He and a fishing buddy raced their boat to the shore behind the woman's house, and Arnier immediately went to work after convincing the girl's mother he was a trained paramedic.

Arnier could not feel a pulse on the girl, whom he guessed was between 12 and 15 months old.

At first, mouth-to-mouth would not work because the young girl's lungs were so full of water, he said.

Arnier continued chest compressions and finally was able to pump the river water from her lungs.

After a few excruciating minutes for both Arnier and the girl's mother, who was on the phone with emergency responders, the girl took a breath. Then another breath, and she began to cry while looking around for her mother.

Arnier said his lifesaving resuscitation just after 1 p.m. Tuesday was the first time he had ever been put in the position while off duty.

“I wasn't really thinking about much,” he said. “The mom got the baby out of the water as fast as she could, and I'm sure that had a big part in the resuscitation of the baby.”

Firefighters and paramedics from the Nunda Township Fire Protection District arrived at the house on the 2100 block of Colby Drive around 1:15 p.m. and were met by Arnier, who had the baby in his arms, said Deputy Chief Mike Keenan.

“It's one of those right time, right place situations,” Keenan said.

Rescue crews rushed the girl to Northern Illinois Medical Center in McHenry, where she remained responsive, Keenan said.

McHenry County sheriff's deputies also responded to the scene and were investigating the incident. They were not available for comment Tuesday.