WESLACO – An unlikely hero saved a 5-year-old from drowning during a Fourth of July gathering.

Amanda Cisneros said friends and family gathered for the festivities late Tuesday afternoon. The mother of three said her children begged her to let them cool off in the pool.

“The kids wanted to get in the pool because all their friends were in the pool, and splash for about an hour. But then our plans changed,” she said.

While everyone exited the pool, Cisneros said one of the children, a 5-year-old, slipped off the pool noodle keeping him afloat.

She said the moment went unnoticed for all, but one. Her son, Phoenix Cisneros, saw the preschooler and immediately realized something was wrong.

“I looked under the pool, and then I saw something bright orange and I saw him sinking," he recalled.

Cisneros said she and the other parents took over once Phoenix managed to pull the 5-year-old out of the water. According to her, it took nearly a minute before the minor to respond to CPR.

Phoenix, as well as his family, is still shaken up from the event. They are working on focusing more on the life that was saved versus the moments of distress.

“Pools are not dangerous – driving cars, flying airplanes, I mean, accidents happen all the time, anytime. And it's not the pool that causes the accident, it was a freak thing,” she said. “We were all watching. We didn't neglect anything, it just happened. So, I mean all we can do is be prepared for the next situation, because life happens all the time."

Cisneros said they are now determined to teach her two younger daughters how to swim. She said not only could it save their lives, but someone else’s.

Several fatal incidents have happened at public and backyard pools in Texas.

The Weslaco Aquatic Center said learning how to swim can be a life-saving skill.

According to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, there have been 47 reported child water fatalities across the state.

Since January, those water fatalities have occurred in locations ranging from bathtubs, backyard pools and water parks.

Several Rio Grande Valley counties have been affected. Starr and Cameron counties have each had a child drown since January. In Hidalgo County, three children, one of which was a 10-month-old child, have drowned in similar incidents.

For more on how to protect loved ones from incidents like these visit Help and Hope: Water Safety.