Seymour officers are being credited with saving the life of a child choking and not breathing early Saturday morning.

Officer Dakota Burke and several other city officers responding to a home in the 100 block of East Ninth Street were able to determine the child was gurgling and its facial color was changing, according to a news release from Lt. C.J. Foster.

He said officers utilized the LifeVac system which is an upper airway clearing device to assist in clearing the child’s airway. Once the upper airway was cleared, the child began to respond.

After clearing the child’s airway, officers immediately drove the child to Schneck Medical Center by police car, Foster said.

“These officers saved the life of the child,” he said of Burke who was assisted by Cpl. Stuart Bryan and officers Austin Peelman, Devin Hill and Levi Peacock.

The child was doing well late Monday afternoon at the time of the news release, Foster said.

On July 26, the Seymour Police Department took delivery of the LifeVac system, he said.

Officers immediately began training, which is provided by LifeVac, before the devices were put into operational use.

All officers in the department will be issued a LifeVac system after they complete the required training.

Foster said the idea of adding the LifeVac system to the department’s bag of tools, came from Cpl. Jeremy Soliday.

Soliday suggested the LifeVac system as an additional tool for officers during a recent supervisor meeting.

According to LifeVac’s website, the rescue suction device has been vetted, purchased and implemented in more than 460 Fire Departments and EMS providers and more than 540 police departments.

There are 59 recorded post-market reports on lives saved by first responders, including Saturday’s rescue by Seymour Police Department.

A fire department in Indiana reported save number 968 back in 2023, while the child rescued by the Seymour Police Department is the 2,627th reported life saved, according to LifeVac statistics.

LifeVac is a simple airway clearance device that can be used in a choking emergency to remove obstructions. Contrary to current choking protocols that revolve around generating positive pressure from underneath the obstruction, LifeVac implements negative pressure using non-invasive suction from the mouth of the choking victim. Unfortunately, current choking protocols do not always work and LifeVac is a complimentary product that is essential.

While LifeVac can be found in hospitals and on ambulances, the majority of saves come from lay people. LifeVac has countless reports of mothers saving a child at home, a colleague saving another employee in the breakroom, teachers saving the life of a student, and restaurant employees saving the life of a patron. For information go to lifevac.net.