“Something’s wrong.”
That’s what Kolby Carter, a senior construction operator at Atmos Energy, remembers thinking as he watched a green Chevrolet Tahoe “come barreling in, really fast,” into the parking lot at the Subway restaurant in Athens, Texas. When a young mother jumped out of the vehicle, hysterical, Carter, his partner, Jacob Dyer, and Crew Foreman Marcus Charles jumped into action.
Her 10-month-old baby was in the back seat, and she wasn’t breathing. Dyer turned the baby over and started applying gentle pressure on her back after Carter had checked to ensure no toys or other objects were in the baby’s mouth. Meanwhile, Charles, who knew the local hospital was just down the street, flagged down an ambulance driving by.
It took about 10 minutes, but for the three men, it felt like five seconds. “In the heat of the moment, it’s all adrenaline,” Dyer said. His efforts helped the baby cough up some mucus. “She was looking at us … I knew she was breathing again,” he said.
Paramedics took over from there, and the team found out later that the baby had respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, which can cause fluid buildup in the lungs. Thanks to their help, she was doing just fine.
“Dealing with a baby is one of the hardest things, especially when you have a kid of your own,” said Charles. All three of the men are fathers. Their safety training at Atmos helped each quickly find a job to do in that situation—and accomplish it successfully.
“These three employees are just awesome individuals. They really show how Atmos Energy is focused on being the safest provider of natural gas services, and I am very proud of these employees,” said Alton Horton, operations supervisor. “They really demonstrate our safety training at its best, and they really stepped up. … You’re only as good as the people around you, and I couldn’t think of better people to be around.”