BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — A 3-year-old Wellington kid is being called a “viral hero.” Asher Shell comes from a family of first responders and he’s proving it runs in the family.
”We’re just a family of first responders and we’re trying to teach the little one’s young,” said Christopher Shell, a Boynton Beach Fire Department firefighter and paramedic.
That’s Shell’s response to a now viral video that’s been shared over 20,000 times. He has been a firefighter and paramedic since 2008. His wife, Jenna, is a Boca Raton dispatcher, even the in-laws are first responders.
”I think it’s a coincidence,” said Shaul Fuchsman, Shell’s father-in-law and member of the Palm Beach County Air Rescue. “It’s a very demanding and rewarding industry.”
And here’s the backstory on the family’s now viral video: Asher, 3, and his 5-year-old brother were visiting their dad on Nov. 1 when an emergency call came in.
”I got toned out to a call and [Asher] got so upset that he couldn’t come with me on the call to help save people - all he kept crying was ‘I want to go save people,’” said Shell.
That’s when he and his wife devised a plan two days later to stage a mock CPR drill complete with a response via a Power Wheels fire truck, a real fire and a 10-pound trapped patient. While the approximately one-and-a-half-minute is gaining a lot of traction online the family hopes it sends a strong message to all parents.
”If I can teach a three-year-old how to do CPR anybody can learn how to do CPR,” said Shell. “It’s not hard and we should all learn how to do it so that way one day you can help save a life.”
Watch the video below: