Ronald Woodall wasn't working the day he saved a child's life. He was on vacation with his family at a Florida hotel in December when his girlfriend noticed a child being pulled from the pool — and everything he'd learned as a park ranger kicked in anyway.

"The only thing going through my mind was that I needed to act, especially since there was only one other person beginning CPR," Woodall said. "I got out of the far side of the pool and ran toward the child while screaming for people to call 911." Woodall helped administer two rounds of CPR and delivered several rescue breaths. The child expelled liquid from his lungs and regained consciousness, though he was still wheezing with blue lips. When paramedics arrived, Woodall specifically warned them to watch for signs of secondary drowning — a detail that could easily save the child a second scare. Woodall himself underwent a routine medical screening afterward, since some of the expelled liquid had entered his own mouth during the rescue.

Col. Justin R. Pabis, commander of the Army Corps of Engineers' New England District, headquartered in Concord, presented Woodall with the Golden Lobster Safety Award at the district's annual Founders Day ceremony in June — the highest safety honor the district gives out, nominated by its Corporate Board and approved by the commander himself.d personal weight.

Before joining the New England District, Woodall worked at Thurmond Lake/Clarks Hill Dam, where he was involved in eight drowning recoveries since 2015 — all of them fatal outcomes he had to live with. Getting the chance to actually save a life, he said, helped ease some of that trauma. Jon Belmont, the district's chief of staff, put it simply in the award citation: Woodall's actions showed that "rangers are never truly 'off duty' in their selfless service to the public."

Woodall serves as a park ranger at West Hill Dam in Uxbridge, about 14 miles south of Worcester, a facility that provides flood protection for communities along the West River in Massachusetts and the Blackstone River in Rhode Island. His regular duties include monthly testing of flood gates and a backup generator — but he's said his favorite part of the job is simply talking to the public about water safety, the same instinct that took over the moment he saw a child in trouble hundreds of miles from home.