Bedfordview estate agent Tanya Sakota (pictured) is a hero, especially to the two people she recently saved from being electrocuted in their home swimming pool – a local architect and his 17-year-old son.
After holding a show day at their house recently, Tanya – who heads up the Sotheby’s International Realty office in Bedfordview - had left to collect her pointer boards, but then decided to return to give the architect feedback on the marketing of his property. By that time, he and his son had arrived home with their dogs and decided to go for a swim as it had been a very hot day.
“Seeing that they wanted to relax, I was about to leave again but a number of things delayed me,” says Tanya, “including a call from my own children that I stopped to answer. And it was a miracle that I did, because after the homeowner and his son has been in the water for just a few moments, they both started shouting and thrashing around and I could see something terrible was happening and they were in danger of drowning.
“My immediate instinct was to pull them both out, but I could just make out the owner telling me the electricity mains were in the garage and I realised I couldn’t touch them or I would also be electrocuted. So I ran to the garage, but there were four distribution boards and it took me two attempts to find the right breaker to turn off.
“I was really scared I would be too late and when I went back to the pool the boy was already unconscious and the father was underwater. I somehow helped them out of the pool and then together we began to do CPR on the boy while I also tried to call an ambulance. I realised it was taking too long so I went out to the road, alerted the neighbours and stopped a passing motorist who helped get everyone in his car and raced them all to hospital.”
A very shaken Tanya then had the presence of mind to lock up the house before also driving herself to the hospital, where the doctors were able to fully revive the boy and treat his father, but were amazed that either had survived such a disastrous situation, andsaid it was undoubtedly Tanya’s quick thinking that had saved both lives.
She says the incident was extremely traumatic and that all involved are receiving counselling, “but when all is said and done, I’m just extremely grateful to have been in the ‘right place at the right time’ and that both the owner and his son are quite all right now. I also wish to thank their family members who have been so kind to me.”
It was later established that the bizarre accident had been caused by the earth leakage cut-out switch failing to work after water had leaked into the pool’s wiring system. “It is a reminder to all homeowners, actually, to test their earth leakage switch or button regularly, for the safety of their families,” says Tanya.
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