Joe Fennel, 7, Called 911 When His Mom Had a Seizure and Kept His Little Brother Calm, and Tucson Firefighters Just Gave Him a Citizen Award

Joe Fennel is 7 years old, and in Tucson he is being called a hero. When his mom had a seizure at home, the boy called 911, stayed on the line with the dispatcher and kept his 2-and-a-half-year-old brother calm until help arrived.

Tucson firefighters recently honored Joe with a Citizen Award, recognizing a young boy who stayed steady in a frightening moment.

Joe Fennel’s 911 Call During His Mom’s Seizure

Joe was home with his mom and his little brother when she suddenly had a seizure, KVOA News 4 Tucson reported. Instead of panicking, Joe picked up the phone and called 911.

He stayed on the line with the dispatcher. At the same time, he looked after his 2-and-a-half-year-old brother and kept him calm while first responders made their way to the home.

Joe’s mom has since called him her hero. She is grateful to be alive, though she faces a long road ahead with her diagnosis. The details of that diagnosis have not been made public.

A Citizen Award and a Tour of Tucson Fire Station 21

Tucson Fire crews welcomed Joe to Station 21 to present him with a Citizen Award. He got a tour of the station and reunited with some of the first responders who helped his family that day.

Standing beside his mom at the station, Joe kept the focus on her. He told KVOA he was grateful that she was still alive and standing right next to him.

The Tucson Fire Department handles emergency medical calls across the city through its Operations Division, with crews working around the clock. The department’s mission statement is to “prevent, respond, and serve – anytime, anywhere.” It also runs public education programs with an emphasis on children.

Why Staying on the Line Matters

Joe did one of the most important things a young caller can do: he did not hang up. First responders in Charles County, Maryland, list following the dispatcher and staying on the line until told to hang up among their top tips for teaching children to call 911.

Those same responders encourage families to make sure kids know their address, phone number, full name and their parents’ full names. They also suggest teaching kids to describe nearby landmarks, such as a park or school, to help dispatchers find them.

Children should also say the number as “nine-one-one” rather than “nine-eleven,” since phones have no 11 button.

How Families Can Prepare Kids for an Emergency

Parent guidance from KidsHealth recommends helping children recognize real emergencies, such as someone who is unconscious or having trouble breathing. Kids should be ready to tell the operator what happened, where they are, who needs help and who is with them.

The same guidance notes that 911 operators regularly take calls from nervous children. Asking kids at home what they would do in a fire or other emergency can help them feel more prepared. Keeping emergency numbers near each phone and making the house number easy to see from the street can also help.

For younger children, parents can start by talking about the police officers, firefighters and paramedics in their community and what those helpers do.

What Seizure First Aid Looks Like

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the first steps in seizure first aid are to keep calm, stay with the person and move anything nearby that could cause injury. If the person is lying down, gently turning them onto their side helps keep their airway clear. Timing the seizure is also important.

The CDC advises calling 911 if a seizure lasts longer than five minutes, if it is the person’s first seizure, if another seizure follows soon after, or if the person is injured or has trouble breathing. Bystanders should never hold the person down or put anything in their mouth.

For the Fennel family, help arrived because a 7-year-old picked up the phone and stayed on it. Joe’s mom still has a long road ahead, and she has her son and the crews at Station 21 behind her.

Get stories like this by email. Sign up for The Parent Diaries Letter.

This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.

Image: G. Edward Johnson – CC BY 4.0/Wikimedia Commons