AKRON, Ohio (WJW) – The Akron Fire Department captain was honored with an award Thursday for saving a 5-year-old’s life.

According to a press release from the Akron Fire Department, Captain Brad Ager was given the EMS Distinguished Service Award for Conduct. The department said he went above and beyond the call of duty while responding to a car crash.

According to the release, Ager was the first at the scene of a car that crashed into a tree on July 5 around 4:30 p.m.

Ager found a 5-year-old child lying next to the vehicle. He realized she was still alive, but was not breathing, the release said.

Ager then began giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to the 5-year-old for several minutes until the child began to breathe sporadically.

“Providing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in the professional setting with no barrier device is an extremely rare occurrence,” the release said.

Eventually, the child was taken to the hospital by EMS.