‘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, and 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.
Cypress, Texas, April 8 —
A 4-year-old girl was in critical condition after she was found unresponsive in a backyard pool.
Pensacola, Florida, April 14 —
30-year-old Navy Airman Nathan Burke died a week after being pulled from a pool while training to save fellow service members.
Kilgore, Texas, April 30 —
2-year-old Luke Wayne Killough died five days after falling into a hot tub. His 4-year-old sister tried to rescue him but was unable to so she ran and got their father. Luke was on a ventilator until he passed away.
Waldorf, Maryland, May 1 —
A 7-year-old girl and her 44-year-old father died of drowning while attending a pool birthday party. According to the family, the girl jumped into the pool and her father jumped in to rescue her but neither knew how to swim. A 17-year-old who was at the party observed what was happening and jumped in to help and was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
Terrell, Texas, May 1 —
A 2-year-old drowned in a home’s swimming pool while visiting from out of town for a social gathering.
Dallas, Texas, May 1 —
8-year-old Keydall Jones was found dead in an apartment complex pool. The boy was autistic and nonverbal and ran off while the family was trying to put him in the car for school. The pool was under construction and didn’t have a fence around it.
Rio Vista, Texas, May 8 —
A missing toddler was found at the bottom of a murky swimming pool at the child’s residence. The child was airlifted to the hospital but did not survive.
Pembroke Pines, Florida, May 10 —
A 4-year-old girl is in critical condition after being found in a swimming pool. Her family noticed that she was missing and found her unresponsive in the pool. CPR was performed until paramedics arrived.
