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Video shows Hemet man save toddler son from drowning

A father in Hemet quickly jumped into action when his toddler son nearly drowned in the family’s swimming pool earlier this month.

Ring camera video posted by the Hemet Firefighters Association shows Zack Petite, a first responder with the fire department, saving his one-year-old son on May 15.


The child can be seen removing his life jacket vest, walking to the side of the pool, sitting down, and then slipping underwater as his sister swims a few feet away.

Within three seconds, Zach jumps into view, pulls his son from the pool, and lays him on his back.

The video shows the child removing his life jacket vest, walking to the side of the pool, sitting down, and then slipping underwater while his sister swims a few feet away. May 15, 2023. (Hemet Firefighters Association 2342 via Storyful)

The boy was unharmed.

“The video is a sober reminder that a water emergency can happen to anyone at anytime in a matter of seconds,” a spokesperson for the association posted on Instagram. “Even though both parents took all the proper precautions including a gate around the pool and an appropriate PFD, the boy still managed to get in the water.”

In late April, a 4-year-old boy died, and his twin brother was hospitalized in critical condition after they were both found unresponsive in their family’s backyard swimming pool in Porter Ranch.

“Remember, children drown without a sound, please watch the water,” the Hemet Firefighters Association said.