Man’s heart stopped before being rescued by lifeguard at Main Square Community Recreation Centre pool

By MATTHEW STEPHENS

A routine swim at Main Square Community Recreation Centre nearly cost a local man his life – if not for the swift response of a courageous lifeguard on duty.

“While swimming at our Main Community Centre, I experienced a medical emergency that required I be rescued from the bottom of the pool,” said Ron Hutchison, a local resident and avid swimmer at the Main Square pool.

“Thanks to the swift, skilled, and composed response from the lifeguard on duty, I am here to write about it.”

Hutchison suffers from a “significantly compromised” vestibular system and oscillopsia: physical conditions that can affect balance and disrupt spatial orientation. Despite his condition, the 75-year-old resident continues to exercise seven days a week, either swimming or riding a stationary bike.

While submerged in the community centre’s 25-metre pool on Monday, Feb. 9, Hutchison accidentally inhaled water and suddenly found himself losing air.

In a state of panic, he attempted to stand up from the water, believing he was in the pool’s shallow end.

“Unfortunately, it was not,” Hutchison told Beach Metro Community News. “I submerged and quickly became completely disoriented, unable to determine which direction was up.”

Hutchison’s memory of the incident faded slowly as his body began shutting down beneath the water. Miraculously, he recalled awakening moments later to concerned gazes from emergency service workers and the lifeguard who rushed into the pool to save him from drowning.

“The next thing I recall is coming to – surrounded by paramedics, firemen, and the tall lifeguard looking down at me,” said Hutchison.

“From the report I read, compressions were started by a ‘bystander,’ which I guess would make sense if the lifeguard had retrieved me from the pool.”

According to the Apple Watch he was wearing at the time of the incident, Hutchison’s pulse had stopped for a total of 90 seconds, displaying a flat heart rate while rescuers worked to resuscitate him.  “At the precise time there was no pulse for 90 seconds. Obviously, the attentiveness and rapid response of the lifeguard made all the difference,” he said.

Hutchison expressed appreciation for the lifeguard’s vigilance that day, in an incident he described as “not just a near drowning.”

“This incident presents an opportunity to highlight how fortunate we are to have such capable professionals safeguarding our community,” said Hutchison. “Their work is often invisible when everything is routine, yet absolutely critical when it matters most.”

He said he returned to the community centre a few days later to thank the lifeguard who rescued him.

“Unfortunately, he was not there. But his brother was present and gave me the opportunity to Facetime to relay my thankfulness in saving my life,” said Hutchison.

Beach Metro Community News reached out to Main Square Community Recreation Centre to interview the lifeguard on duty that day, but was unable to do so due to City of Toronto confidentiality restrictions.

Although situations like Hutchison’s may be an infrequent occurrence for many lifeguards across the city, drowning-related injuries and fatalities are more common than many would assume.

According to the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP) database, there were 1,109 drowning-related cases across the country between 2011 and 2023; 624 (56.3 per cent) of which occurred in residential or public swimming pools.

Aydin Sarrafzadeh, a former lifeguard and the City of Toronto’s current Director of Community Recreation, said efficient training plays an integral role in shaping a lifeguard’s responsiveness and preventing life-threatening incidents, where “every second counts.”

“It takes a significant amount of training and development to ensure that lifeguards are certified as required by the Ontario Health Regulation,” said Sarrafzadeh.

“As part of that training, they go through several different requirements, both physical but also cognitive and they involve things like recognition of incidents, prevention of incidents where possible, and also response to incidents.”

Sarrafzadeh said the Main Square lifeguard’s attention to detail and ability to perform resuscitation was imperative to ensure Hutchison survived during the incident.

“Lifeguards are required to ensure that they get to the victim in time and perform what they need to perform. Whether that requires removal from water, first aid, and in this case, I think resuscitation was also necessary,” said Sarrafzadeh.

But those responsibilities are no small feat, noted Sarrafzadeh, emphasizing the emotional weight that often accompanies a life-saving role.  

“It takes quite a bit of emotional support to deal with these types of situations,” said Sarrafzadeh. “When we talk about post-incident stress, PTSD, it’s really important that we factor that both into our training, but also the support that lifeguards may require after responding to an incident, so staff are prepared for that emotional responsibility that goes hand in hand with it.”

For Sarrafzadeh, a former lifeguard with more than 20 years of experience, taking preventative measures to avoid incidents is the best thing swimmers can do to prevent life-threating situations.

“There’s quite a bit of work that lifeguards do to educate and prevent drownings and incidents so that it doesn’t turn into a bigger issue of having to rescue people,” said Sarrafzadeh.

“If individuals are in need of assistance or suffer from major medical issues, they should either be with someone or let staff know. And if lifeguards are not present, be with somebody who’s aware of your needs and never swim alone.”

To learn more about swimming in the city, please go to https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/parks-recreation/program-activities/swim-water-activities/swimming-water-play/#location=&lat=&lng=&zoom=