Ryan Murphy's new show came out of his own experience with first responders.

Murphy, who also created "Glee," "American Horror Story" and "American Crime Story," debuted "9-1-1" Wednesday, follows a group of Los Angeles police officers, paramedics and firefighters.

His inspiration, he revealed Thursday, stemmed from a life-or-death experience with his now-3-year-old son.

"My son Ford was 11 months old (at the time) and, in the middle of the night, stopped breathing," Murphy said at Fox's winter Television Critics Association press tour. "We called 9-1-1, and obviously, we were in a panic and doing CPR. They showed up and at two in the morning, there were four responders. They were incredibly calm and nurturing, and they brought him back to life."

While his husband, photographer David Miller, went to the hospital, Murphy stayed behind to give a medical report to the paramedics. Ford was eventually diagnosed with a tracheal blockage.

"If they hadn't shown up, I think my son would have died," Murphy said.

Now, he's celebrating first responders in "9-1-1," starring Connie Britton, Angela Bassett and Peter Krause.

The show also marks his first procedural since "Nip/Tuck," the medical drama about plastic surgeons and their patients.

Both series, Murphy said, were about "creating a show where the emergencies at the heart of the show were from the lead characters."