Teen lifeguards save boy, 4

Two Hedland teenagers have been hailed as heroes after dramatically saving the life of a four-year-old boy at the South Hedland swimming pool last month.

YMCA lifeguards Jamaine Mitchell, 17, and Kevin Phillips, 16, sprang into action on October 2 after the young boy was spotted, unconscious, in the water at the South Hedland Aquatic Centre at 1.40pm.

It was then Mr Mitchell jumped into the water to pull the child over to the side of the pool where Mr Phillips took over and began performing CPR.

Mr Phillips said the little boy had turned blue but soon began to revive and cough water after one set of compressions.

"I was relieved and also I was a little bit shaky - it could have gone either way," he said.

"You don't know you have the ability (to save a life) until it happens; I was confident but when it actually happens, it is nerve wracking."

Given most teenagers the age of Mr Mitchell and Mr Phillips barely know how to cook, let alone save lives, the duo's calm and professional actions have astonished casual observers.

They not only revived the child but undertook crowd control and allowed the pool's more senior staff to come in and administer oxygen until the ambulance arrived 15 minutes later.

Following the rescue, Mr Mitchell, Mr Phillips and the other on-duty pool staff travelled to Perth to accept special recognition awards at the YMCA Perth annual general meeting.

YMCA Perth chief executive Ross Kyrwood said he was "extremely proud" of the pair and their training.

He said Mr Mitchell and Mr Phillips hold current Bronze Medallion, Pool Lifeguard, First Aid and CPR qualifications.

Mr Kyrwood also endorsed the actions of all pool staff, despite the young boy not being spotted until he was already unconscious.

"The clear message is that lifeguards should not be seen as the one and only resource available to prevent drowning … and (they) can't be expected to replace the close supervision of parents or guardians," he said.

Mr Phillips whose father is a pilot with the Royal Flying Doctor Service, said he was keen to continue to keep Hedland swimmers safe.