‘NOT ON MY WATCH’
Drowning injuries and fatalities are so commonplace that the stories could fill up whole newspapers.
The CDC estimates that about 10 people die from drowning in the U. S. every day.
Children ages 1 through 4 have the highest drowning rates and most of those drownings happen in home swimming pools.
Drowning events are real, tragic, frequently preventable, and much more than just statistics.
There are measures that service technicians can take to promote drowning awareness.
Speak to parents about removing toys and other temptations from the pool area.
Encourage parents to learn about layers of protection: pool covers, gates and alarms.
Remind parents there is no substitution for total supervision around the pool area.
Service professionals are in peoples’ backyards every day, in a unique position to point out danger areas, but may not do so unless the drowning problem is brought home to them.
To that end, the following is a description of just some of the drowning incidents that have recently occurred.
Jasper County, Missouri, August 9 —
5-year-old Makayla Scott was found in a neighbor’s
pool. Police were called to assist with the search, including a K-9 officer. She died at the hospital.
Turbotville, Pennsylvania, August 11 —
3-year-old Clayton-Lucas Eugene Hamilton wandered over to his neighbor’s above-ground pool and drowned. The pool owner found the boy floating and called 911. His mother and boyfriend told police they were sleeping when he left the house.
Garden Grove, August 12 —
A 2-year-old boy wandered out of his house and into the pool. When his father and neighbor went looking for him, they found him in the pool. He was taken to the hospital with little to no brain activity.
League City, Texas, August 14 —
A 3-year-old girl fell into a residential pool and drowned. She was transported to a hospital where she died.
Skiatook, Oklahoma, August 14 —
when 18-month-old Landon Castleberry silently fell into the pool near where the family was having pizza, no one noticed. His 7-year-old sister spotted him first, swam out to him, and screamed for her dad.
They cleared the water from his lungs and he was checked out at the hospital and is doing fine, thanks to his sister.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, August 14 —
A 5-year-old girl nearly died after being underwater in a resort pool for nearly 5 minutes.
She was transported to a hospital and revived.
Her father was nearby and is being charged with unlawful neglect of a child.
Pelahatchie, Mississippi, August 20 —
5-year-old Angel Frith was found at the bottom of a campground swimming pool and died.
Her mother and boyfriend left her alone in the pool while they went to their car.
Both are being charged with felony child neglect.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, August 23 —
A 70-year-old man confined to a motorized wheel chair accidentally fell into the pool and drowned.
His wife found him in the water.
Orange, Florida, August 25 —
A 1 1/2- year-old child was pronounced deceased 11 days after she was found unresponsive in the jacuzzi when she was left outside unattended.
