ST. GEORGE – A man in his 70s was in critical condition Thursday night after a near-drowning incident at Gold’s Gym in St. George Thursday afternoon.
At approximately 3:15 p.m., the St. George Communications Center received a report of a possible drowning at the gym, located at 484 N. Mall Drive in St. George. Two St. George Police officers were the first to respond to the scene and began CPR on the man, whose name has not been released.
When the officers arrived, the man had been facedown in the gym’s exercise pool for an unknown amount of time and had no pulse and was not breathing, St. George Police Sgt. Dave Williams said.
“After quite a bit of time – I can’t tell you exact amount of time – near 15-20 minutes of CPR – that male actually started to get a pulse, which is pretty uncommon,” Williams said.
For someone to be revived after such an extended period of time with no pulse and no respiration is very rare, Williams said.
“When CPR goes for that long, in my experience, (resuscitations) are few and far between,” he said.
It is not known at this time whether the man was swimming in the gym’s exercise pool at the time of the incident or if something else occurred.
The man was transported to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George and was in critical condition as of late Thursday night. The St. George Police Department has classified the incident as a drowning.
“I think a lot of people associate (drowning) with fatality,” Williams said. “You can drown and live.”
Gold Cross Ambulance and the St. George Fire Department additionally responded to the scene. Williams said the harmony and teamwork of all responders on this incident was impressive, and they were able to work seamlessly to revive, stabilize and transport the man.
“Medics on scene said it was CPR that brought him around – good CPR by the first responders,” Williams said.
Once a responder begins CPR, it is not handed off when medical personnel arrive, he added; the first responder continues administering CPR to the victim without ceasing.
“The calm of everybody involved is quite amazing when all is said and done,” Williams said.
The manager on duty at Gold’s Gym Thursday night said he was not able to comment on the incident due to client privacy policies.
This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
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Um… Dictionary.com definition of Drown: “verb (used without object) 1. to die under water or other liquid of suffocation. verb (used with object) 2. to kill by submerging under water or other liquid.” Now, you can drown and be revived or resuscitated as was the wonderful result of this gentleman’s story, but to drown does mean that you die.
No cameras to monitor the place and not a single person walked by “Crazy” just saying
Most gym pools don’t have a lifeguard and have signs saying so; however, it’s unfortunate that Gold’s Gym’s trainers and staff who were on duty were not able to begin CPR before the first responders arrived. Time is of the essence.
Did the person that called it in pull him out of the water or just leave him there?
It says Near Drowning at the top of the article. Get a life Rachel. Quit splitting hairs.
“I think a lot of people associate (drowning) with fatality,” Williams said. “You can drown and live.”
Directly from the article, not splitting hairs. One cannot drown and live.
The Officer commented, “I think a lot of people associate (drowning) with fatality,” Williams said. “You can drown and live.” Drowning is a very serious thing, not to be taken lightly. I used to be a life guard and many people don’t understand that being in water requires a certain amount of respect for that element. Not only that, but it concerns me greatly when a civil servant doesn’t understand that drowning is death. Just like electrocution is death, not just a severe shock. You, Markymark, need to read the article before throwing mud.
Maybe nobody at the gym noticed because they were gettin busy with each other. It is sad to say but sadly very true.
15 minutes of straight CPR is exhausting!! way to go SGPD! oh wait, everyone will ignore the fact that it was the cops who saved him because they’re too busy pointing out all the negatives.
Actually, gym workers and a Physical Therapist Assistant did CPR for quite some time before the police arrived, This report is not very accurate.
This article is inaccurate and terribly written. It makes it sound like the man was still in the water when police arrived. It’s true, that “the man had been facedown in the pool” but he was out of the water and CPR had been started by a PTA (physical therapist assistant)
The article is based on information provided by the police department. Gold’s Gym would not comment, and nothing was ever mentioned about anyone other than an officer performing CPR. We can only report the information we are given. If a reader contacts us and says, “I was there and this is what I saw” and is willing to be interviewed for the story, we are always happy to speak with them.
I was there, and my friends are the ones that pulled him out of the pool! one of the golds gym workers and my friend started CPR immediately after we pulled him out of the water as I called 911.
Maybe he had a heart attack and that is why he drowned.
I’m the PTA who began CPR together with the man mentioned earlier. Get your facts straight before you report Cami.
Does anyone know how this gentleman is today (Mon. Sept. 1)?