Texas Firefighter Rescues 3 Kids from Capsized Boat

Jason Horne was wrapping up a Fourth of July celebration with his family on Alvarado Park Lake near Fort Worth when he heard screaming. A 16-foot fishing boat had capsized, and three children were trapped underneath in the dark water.

The 50-year-old Midlothian Fire Department firefighter and medic dove in immediately. "There wasn't a lot to think about," Horne told reporters this week. "My instinct was to go."

The murky water made it impossible to see, so Horne relied entirely on touch to find the children. He grabbed the first boy's life jacket and pulled him to the surface, where the child was coughing but conscious. Without pausing, Horne dove back under.

The second child, a little girl, wasn't breathing when he brought her up. Horne climbed onto the overturned boat and started CPR, working through several rounds until she gasped for air.

Another bystander pulled out the third child, a little boy tangled in rope with no pulse. Horne performed CPR on him while a pontoon boat rushed them to shore, where medics were waiting. By the time they arrived, the boy was breathing again.

While Horne was in the water, his 12-year-old daughter Emilie sprang into action on his boat. She called 911 and stayed on the line until help arrived. "She got everybody coming that way," Horne said proudly. "She was my hero."

Sunny's Take

The best part of this story happened days later when Horne got to meet the little boy he'd resuscitated. "It was great to see him. Precious little boy," he said. "I got to pick him up and hold him and talk to him a little bit. So it was great to see them. It was pretty heartwarming."

All three children have fully recovered and returned to their families. Horne credits one simple thing with saving their lives: life jackets. "I've always taught my kids that if you have a life jacket on and something happens, I can find you because you're going to float," he explained. "I believe with my whole heart, if those three children were not wearing life jackets, that would have been a recovery and not a rescue."

The father of four says he's still processing everything that happened that day, but one thing is certain: his training, his instincts, and three small life jackets made all the difference.