SUMMERDALE, Ala. — Chad Dugger believes that he and fellow EMC lineman Paul Lores were in the right place at the right time on Tuesday, April 7.

“I believe the Lord put us where we needed to be,” said the 38-year-old Robertsdale resident who will celebrate his 12th anniversary with the Baldwin Electric Membership Corporation in May.

It all started when the pair decided to take an early lunch that day and rode to Ferry Landing Park on Honey Road overlooking Fish River.

While eating lunch, the Dugger and Lores observed a grandmother with about four or five children ranging in age from 1 ½ to 11.

“We just sat there and watched them play while we ate,” Dugger said. “I remember thinking, ‘she’s sure got a big job trying to keep up with all those children.’”

Dugger and Lores finished eating and looked to see where their next job would be. Finding that it was close by, they called in and prepared to go on their way when fate intervened.

“I remember Paul saying, ‘Hey, look at that boy in the water,’” Dugger said.

He looked and one of the children, a boy of about 4 who had been watching his elder relatives play in the water from the pier, had apparently fallen into the water and was struggling to stay afloat.

“He went down at least four times,” Dugger said, “and I remember thinking, ‘we’ve got to act right away or he’s not going to make it.’”

Dugger sprang into action, jumping out of the truck and jumping into the water.

“I don’t remember how I got out of the truck or getting to the water,” he said. “Paul said I kind of just fell in the water. I do remember swimming to the boy and helping his grandmother get him out of the water.”

Dugger said the grandmother had jumped in also and they reached the boy around the same time.

“I grabbed his arm and kind of pushed him over to his grandmother,” he said. “It wasn’t that deep, but we were still not quite able to touch the bottom. She was able to swim to a spot where she could get her footing and walked him out of the water.”

While coughing and visibly shaken, Dugger said, he appeared to be OK.

“The grandmother told the boy to tell me ‘thank you,’ and he said ‘thanks,’” Dugger said. “I told him, ‘you don’t need to thank me, I would have done the same thing for anybody.’”

He was able to hear later that the boy had fully recovered from the ordeal.

The two lineman carry state-of-the-art equipment on their truck, he said, and have been trained in CPR and how to use the equipment. Dugger is also a veteran of the Elsanor Volunteer Fire Department, having served there for 23 years.

“Thankfully we didn’t have to use (the equipment), but it’s nice to know we have the equipment and training necessary when faced with a situation like that, we have the capability to act and not just sit by helpless wondering what to do,” he said.

The pair are now being hailed as heroes and, Rebecca Shobe, manager of communications for Baldwin EMC, said this is not the first time an employee has stepped in to save a life.

“We are very proud of our employees that in situations such as this, they jump into action,” she said. “We consider them to be trained first-responders and more than once they have been able to act when a need arose.”

Dugger said he and his partner have talked several times about the incident and how things could have been very different.

“It could have happened before we got there,” he said, “or if it had happened just a few minutes later, we would have already been gone. If something like that has to happen, it definitely couldn’t have worked out any better.”