PREMATURE baby Daniel Darbyshire will be able to count three firefighters from Williton amongst the team of professionals who have helped keep him alive since he was born last September weighing little more than a bag of sugar. The actions of Simon Bruford, Jeff Cross and Kevin Liddle, all members of the Co-Responder scheme which operates out of the Williton station and provides a first response to medical emergencies ahead of ambulance paramedics, undoubtedly saved his life. Daniel, whose parents Clarissa Bicknell and Ben Darbyshire live in Watchet, is an only surviving triplet - one brother with spina bifida died in the womb at 12 weeks, followed by another at 20 weeks suffering from possible Downs Syndrome. But after coming into the world at just 26 weeks, three months premature, the tiny tot has proved he is a real little fighter. After 11 weeks in the special care baby unit at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, Daniel was finally allowed back to the family home in Ramon Avenue in mid-November, having doubled his birth weight. But a fortnight later he developed a cough and became unwell, resulting in Clarissa finding him motionless early one morning at the beginning of December. "I didn't dare touch him because I thought he was dead," she said. "I phoned 999 and asked for an ambulance and soon afterwards I heard a vehicle screeching round the corner near our house. "It was a fire brigade Land Rover so I didn't think it was anything to do with us. "But Simon and the other two men jumped out and told us why they were there - I didn't even know the Co-Responder service existed but I can't tell you how grateful we were for their help. "The ambulance took about 35 minutes to get here but the firemen were there in just over five minutes." When the team arrived they found Daniel grey and lifeless and could not find a pulse. They immediately began resuscitation techniques and administered oxygen. "After about ten minutes the colour started to come back to the baby's cheeks and he began to move of his own accord," Simon told the Free Press. "Half an hour after we got there the ambulance arrived and rushed him to Musgrove. "This was definitely one of the worst scenarios we have had to face since we have been on the run for Co-Responder calls. "What made it worse was that I know the parents reasonably well. At the time, we did what we were there to do - the training kicked in. "But it hit us all later in the day when we realised what we had been to and what we had done. We had a few stiff drinks that evening! "Obviously we have been trained to a fairly high standard and this training has certainly paid for itself with this call. "The feeling you get when you know that you have helped save someone's life really can't be explained, especially when a baby is involved." Daniel spent eight days in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Cardiff before returning to Musgrove for further treatment for brochialitus and hypothermia, including seven days on a ventilator. He came home just a week before Christmas, providing his parents and brothers Arron, aged four, and three-year-old Keran with the best present they could have wished for, and now weighs 9lbs 2oz. Clarissa, who celebrated her 31st birthday yesterday (Thursday) said words could not describe how grateful they were to the firefighters. "I phoned up Simon and just said thank you - what else can you say? "When we got to the hospital the doctors said that if it had not been for their actions Daniel probably wouldn't be here now. "They said he was pretty close to giving up. He is so precious to us, such a special little boy, a real fighter." The Williton Co-Responder team has received more than 50 calls since its launch last September, proving its undoubted need. The team is always looking for sponsorship to pay for new equipment and keen to hear from any local businesses willing to offer financial support. Any interested companies or individuals can contact Simon at the fire station between 7pm and 9pm every Friday or Assistant Divisional Officer Steve Brown on 01823 3273022.