Ever since he became a lifeguard five years ago, Daniel Zayonc has had trouble relaxing at lakes.
The water is murky, there can be steep drop-offs and the swimming area is often unsupervised.
So, when the 21-year-old North Vancouver resident found himself at the edge of Lake Kathlyn in Smithers, B.C. on a particularly hot day last July, he was immediately on alert.
Zayonc, who is studying biology at SFU, had taken a break from his job working as a lifeguard and swim instructor at West Vancouver Aquatic Centre to take a position as an environmental services co-op student with a consulting company. After a long day of bushwhacking and lugging heavy gear in the field, he and his crew lead Gerrit Velema decided to cool off in the nearby lake.
Upon their arrival, Zayonc's lifeguard instincts took over.
"I noticed a kid away from his parents, kind of on his own," he recalls. "He was a little kid, maybe four years old, so not very tall."
He estimates the boy was approximately 10 metres from shore.
"He was about chest deep and I'm like, 'What is this guy doing, and where are the parents?" Zayonc says. "He didn't look scared at that time, but then he started getting deeper and deeper."
Before he knew it, the child was up to his neck. Suddenly, the boy's head disappeared below the surface of the water and he began "ladder-climbing" - a telltale sign of drowning.
"It's almost like they're trying to climb a ladder," Zayonc explains. "His arms were almost reaching out of the water, but his head was totally submerged and he wasn't going to get back up."
There was no time to hesitate. Zayonc charged into the water and scooped up the youngster without a second to spare.
"It only takes 15 to 30 seconds for someone to drown," he says. "The water clarity wasn't that great, so say he went down within those 15 seconds - no one would have been able to see him."
Zayonc located the mother, a ways down the beach, and delivered the boy safe and sound.
"The mom was pretty embarrassed because she had no idea what was going on," he says. "I don't even know if she said 'Thank You.'" But his quick actions
didn't go unnoticed. On March 29, Zayonc was awarded the Silver Medal for Bravery at the 102nd Annual Commonwealth Honour and Rescue Awards, presented by the Lifesaving Society B.C. and Yukon Branch. The medal acknowledges water rescues involving "significant acts of bravery," according to the Lifesaving Society website.
"It feels great," Zayonc says of the recognition, adding that he is thankful his former co-worker and rescue witness decided to share the story. "If it wasn't for Gerrit the story wouldn't have come out and it just makes me want to recognize other people."
Despite his shiny new hardware, Zayonc maintains the modesty of a true hero. "I don't think this story is all that brave, because I'm a lifeguard," he says. "Gerrit makes it sound a lot more heroic."
