BURRILLVILLE – A Burrillville Middle School student was praised by school officials last week for his quick action in rushing to help a classmate who was struggling to swim.
Sixth grader Alexander Dupuis was on a field trip to Spring Lake Beach in Burrillville on Thursday, June 13 when he noticed a boy attempting to swim out to the buoys who was unable to keep himself above water.
“I was just thinking, ‘I’ve got to help him,'” Dupuis later told NRI NOW.
Dupuis said at the time, the class of 6th graders was spread out between the beach and the arcade.
“I was on the shore hanging out with some of my other friends,” he said. “I saw he was in distress and I jumped in.”
When he got out to the panicked swimmer, the boy grabbed on to Dupuis for help, leading to a briefly frightening moment for the young rescuer.
“I went under water, but I was able to get up,” Dupuis said.
Dupuis said he held his classmate by his shoulders and was able to tread water until lifeguards arrived.
The humble hero didn’t mention the incident to his parents, who were notified later by school officials.
“The school contacted me 24 hours later to commend him for his quick and selfless actions,” said Dupuis’s mother Lisa Beausoleil. “Both of us – his parents – are full time EMT/firefighters, so we are overwhelmed with emotions and excitement.”
Asked if her son is a particularly strong swimmer, the proud mom replied, “The funny part is, he’s really not.”
Dupuis credits his parents with inspiring the courageous act. His father, Matthew Dupuis, is a full time career firefighter with the Pascoag Fire Department, while Beausoleil works per diem in Pascoag and full time in Exeter.
“My mom would go out and save somebody’s life and I’ve always thought I would want to do that one day,” Dupuis said, adding that someday he, “wants to work in the EMS district.”
“I was kind of surprised that they made a bigger deal of it,” he said of the reaction to his heroics from those at the school.
“He’s kind of like us,” said Beausoleil. “When he sees help is needed he just does stuff and hope’s there ‘s no repercussions later. He’s strong willed.”
“With no hesitation or thought of a lifeguard on duty, swam out and held the boy up from the water long enough for a lifeguard to intervene, which avoided a drowning situation,” she said.
School officials also credited the lifeguards at the beach for their part in the rescue.
“You could see their training coming into play when they sprung into action,” noted BMS teacher Pat Lapierre in a message to beach manager Judy Lopez. “They heard the call for help fro. our sixth grade student when he began struggling in deep water.”
Lifeguard Joseph DeCesare was able to get the struggling swimmer back to the beach, noted Lapierre.
“We appreciate their dedication to their job and Spring Lake Beach,” she wrote.
Beausoleil said school officials have verified that the other boy involved is doing fine, recovered from the situation in full and was able to enjoy the rest of his field trip.
Editor’s note: The above article has been edited to reflect the role the lifeguards played in the rescue.
It would be nice if this article pointed out that an untrained person should avoid a swimming rescue if possible, particularly with lifeguards on duty. The article highlights the reason why: the rescuer was dragged under and there were nearly two victims. Lifeguards are trained particularly for this possibility.
Yes, the boy did a good job, and I do not mean to say that he should not help people in need, but this is a good teaching moment. He did a good job, but we should encourage kids to alert lifeguards in these situations.