911 call from nine-year-old saves mom's life

APPLETON - Authorities in Outagamie County are crediting a nine-year-old girl for helping to save her mother's life last month, all because of a 911 phone call.

On Jan. 28, the Outagamie County Communication Center received a call from a nine-year-old girl, Autumn Eichinger. She asked for an ambulance because her mother was having a heart attack.

• For clips of the 911 call, play the video to the left.

"I was really scared, but I stayed really calm when I made the phone call," Autumn said.

Last month, Autumn was at home with her mother and 7-year-old brother, when her mom started having heart complications.

"I really don't remember much when she was on the phone, I don't remember the police officers being there, because I was pretty much out of it by then," explained Autumn's mother, Christy Fritch.

Turns out, Christy was having a mild heart attack, but luckily her daughter knew just what to do.

"I called 911," Autumn said.

Officials estimate they received about 140,000 calls for service each year. They consider this one to be rare, especially for how well Autumn handled the situation.

"She immediately knew her address off the top of her head," said Outagamie 911 telecommunicator Millie Hartl  "She listened very carefully, she stayed calm, she spoke slowly, she was just a great caller, she did a great job."

Tuesday, Autumn and her mother finally got to meet Hartl.

And everyone agrees, if it wasn't for Autumn, things could have ended much differently.

"She had called 911 once before when I had a really bad anxiety attack and she learned from that," Christy said.
 
"It saved my life and I just hope other 9-year-olds or younger can learn an experience from this because it was very good."

Dispatchers say it's important for parents to make sure children know to call 911 in an emergency and to know their address and phone number.