Teen Saved By Lifeguard, Fellow Swimmers At Cape Cod Beach

CENTERVILLE (CBS) -- As a 17 or 18-year-old, having a summer job as a lifeguard at Craigville Beach seems like a sweet deal. But lifeguards go through intensive training -- and it is for a good reason.

Just ask Ethan Sirhal, who helped save the life of a 17-year-old swimmer who was pulled out of the water on Tuesday.

The swimmer "had no pulse and wasn't breathing. So we went through a cycle of CPR," said Ethan.

A bystander started chest compressions and Ethan started breaths.

"To be honest, the only thing I was really nervous about is if I had done the right thing," he said.

Other young lifeguards also jumped into action, helping with crowd control and supplying medical kits.  Colleen Ellis, a lifeguard, said, "Once the EMS arrived, she woke up, started screaming, talking."

The Centerville Fire Department trains these lifeguards.

"We just go over the equipment we have, how we'd like them to take the victim out of the water," explained firefighter Jack McGonigle.

Supervisor Elizabeth Ells had praise for her lifeguards. She said, "They watch the water, they take their job seriously. You'll see them out here on the hottest day working out, running down the beach, and you wonder why but their response time was impeccable."

Ethan told WBZ-TV that President Eisenhower said it best: "Plans are worthless, but planning is everything."