Marine Corps Base Quantico -- Screams from a woman in the water who was trying to keep her 83-year-old drowned father afloat prompted quick action by two Quantico firemen during the Quantico Triathlon race held Saturday.

Navigating the 12-foot rescue boat through more than 200 swimmers who were churning the Potomac River during the 750-meter open water swim portion of the Quantico Tri race was just the first challenge in saving the life of a race competitor.

According to a report from Quantico Assistant Fire Chief Dwayne Palermo, Quantico Fire and Emergency Services was tasked to support Marine Corps Marathon with medical and boat support of the triathlon and 12K run. During the event, Sgt. Steven Denton and Firefighter Thomas Seablom were assigned to monitor the Potomac River portion of the race course in a Quantico rescue boat. They were to observe the swimmers during that part of the course, looking for anyone in distress. While overseeing the course, Denton and Seablom detected a swimmer waving her arms and yelling that she needed help because a male swimmer was unresponsive in the water.

Sgt. Denton and Firefighter Seablom immediately recognized the severity of the situation and responded instantly. Seablom navigated the boat quickly but cautiously around multiple race swimmers in the water. As they approached the swimmer, Denton jumped in the water without hesitation to reach the unresponsive swimmer. Denton, with Seablom’s assistance, worked to remove him from the water into the boat. Seablom notified the other units of the patient’s status, Denton began CPR and they departed for the shore line. Denton continued numerous cycles of CPR on the patient while Seablom piloted the boat in a safe manner to avoid countless swimmers on the course. Denton maintained the patient’s airway and had restored spontaneous circulation by the time they arrived back on shore. Both Sgt. Denton and Firefighter Seablom removed the patient from the boat while continuing to provide rescue breathing and placed him in a MCB Quantico ambulance. They swiftly transported him to Sentara Hospital, Chief Palermo’s report stated.

“The 83-year-old man was drowned,” said Denton. “We probably worked on him for five minutes. We didn’t give up. We just did what we had to do. Once we started to see he was aspirating, we flipped him over and started to get more water out of him. By the time we got to shore, we had a pulse and were able to get him into the Quantico ambulance.

“I was not going to let him go,” Denton said.

Denton, 41, is a married father of three from King George, Virginia. He has been with MCB Quantico Fire Station 533 for nine years. He is the recipient of three other lifesaving awards.

Firefighter Seablom, the father of two girls, is from Alexandria, Virginia, and currently lives in Stafford, Virginia. He has been with the MCB Quantico Fire and Emergency Services for nine years and is one of only a few firefighters licensed to pilot rescue craft. He is the recipient of one lifesaving award.

“The hard part was getting to the drowned man safely. There were more than 200 people in the water at the time of the rescue, and I had to make sure we didn’t hit any of the swimmers with the boat when I tried piloting the boat to him,” Seablom said. “Once we got him in the boat, Denton and I started the CPR. Once I saw the man start to come back to life, I radioed dispatch that we were headed in and that an ambulance needed to evacuate the man while Denton continued to give the man CPR.”

According to Quantico Fire Chief Bruce Sullivan, the 83-year-old man who Denton and Seablom saved was hospitalized until Tuesday, when he was reportedly released and walked out of the hospital.

“Quantico’s firefighters are great,” Sullivan said. “This is what they do.”