Seven-year-old Massiah Browne is being heralded a hero for saving the life of a toddler in Sacramento, CA.
The young boy was swimming with relatives at his apartment complex when he saw something completely out of the ordinary.
“I was just playing in the pool and then I saw a boy at the bottom of the pool,” Massiah, a second-grade student, told “Good Morning America.” “And I went to go get him.”
According to his mother, Tiara Delvalle, Massiah swam down in 6-feet deep water to rescue the three-year-old stranger who was at the bottom of the pool.
When Massiah pulled him to the surface of the pool, his nine-year-old cousin, Savannah, pulled the boy to the deck as other adults called 911.
“Savannah brought him to his mom and then they did CPR on the boy and then they called the doctor,” Massiah said.
Massiah’s father, Marcus Browne, a boxer who competed for the United States at the 2012 London Olympics, said that even though his son swims like “a fish,” he was in shock that he knew exactly what to do to save the toddler’s life.
“I just couldn’t believe it,” Browne said in the GMA interview of his son, whose superhero nickname is, “Siah Fire.”
Browne continued, “He’s a good kid.”
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning is the leading cause of death for children between the ages of one and four. Drowning is the second leading cause of death for children up to age 14.
A 2021 report released by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) stated that male toddlers and teenage boys are at the highest risk of drowning.
“We recommend swim sessions for children beginning around age 1, with the understanding that lessons and swimming skills are essential but are not enough on their own and won’t ‘drown-proof’ a child,” said Linda Quan, MD, FAAP, also an author of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) report. “Parents will want to consider if their child is mature enough for swim lesson and talk with the pediatrician if they have any concerns about a child’s physical limitations or health.”
Although summer is winding down, but because of the heat, there is still time to hit the pool and/or the beach. Below are a six key ways, according to the AAP, to help prevent your child from drowning.
- Close, constant, attentive and capable adult supervision when children are in and around water as well as life jacket use among children and adults.
- To prevent unsupervised access, four-sided pool fencing at least 4-feet tall with self-closing and self-latching gates that completely isolates the pool from the house and yard.
- In the home, be aware that infant bath seats can tip over, and children can slip out of them and drown in even a few inches of water in a bathtub. Infants should never be left alone in a tub, even for a minute.
- Parents and caregivers should prevent unsupervised access to the swimming pool, open water or a bathtub.
- To prevent drowning in toilets, young children should not be left alone in the bathroom, and toilet locks may be helpful.
- Water should be emptied from containers, such as pails and buckets, immediately after use.
