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   When Travorus Barnes, a sophomore at Hazelwood Central High School, took a lifeguard training class at HCHS, he never thought he would have to use the skills he learned to help save a life.  While swimming with friends at a local swimming pool recently, Barnes pulled a man out of the water after he had been knocked unconscious attempting to dive into the pool.

Barnes said he was swimming when someone alerted people at the pool that a person was at the bottom of the pool.

“I got out of the pool and went to the other side to see what was going on,” said Barnes. “I saw him at the bottom of the pool and instinct just kicked in. I jumped in to get him.”

Barnes said the lifeguard training class taught him to stay calm and not to panic.

“I learned in class the most important thing is to stay calm. I also learned that when you are pulling a person out of water, you have to keep their head above the water. That’s all I was thinking about. I just wanted to make sure I kept his head above the water,” said Barnes.

Barnes said after he pulled the man out of the pool, other people came to his aid and began to perform CPR until paramedics could arrive.

“I’m happy he didn’t die and I was in the right place at the right time,” he said. “God was there. Everyone was pretty scared, but I knew what to do and I was able to do what I needed to do to be helpful. If something like that had happened to me, I would hope someone would do the same for me.

“Everyone there was telling me I did a good job. It made me feel like I was a hero. I was surprised that I wasn’t scared while it was happening. But, I was nervous because I wasn’t sure if he was playing around and would try to push me away when I got to him. My mom was very proud of me. She said she was thankful I had taken the class.”

He said when he was taking the class he knew he was learning important information, but never expected to have to use the skills he learned.

“I knew I was learning important skills, but you always hope you don’t have to use them. You don’t think you actually will; that kind of stuff happens to other people. I was glad I was able to use what I learned and be successful,” he said.