‘NOT ON MY WATCH’
Drowning injuries and fatalities are so commonplacethatthestoriescouldfillupwholenewspapers.
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.
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, July 5 —
Two children died after being found unresponsive in a home pool. The 3-year-old and 6-year-old did not live at the home and were being watched by someone at a home nearby.
Buena Vista, New Jersey, July 6 —
3 year-old Louis Carlos Dimichele was found unresponsive in a pool and flown via medical helicopter to a hospital where he later died.
Laurel Hill, North Carolina, July 7 —
A nearly 2-year-old child drowned in his home pool. The child was outside with siblings and a parent home making lunch when the child somehow got in the water.
Frisco, Texas, July 8 —
A 6-year-old died the day after being found unresponsive in a HOA pool. First responders arrived to find lifeguards performing CPR.
Millville, New Jersey, July 10 —
A 4-year-old boy was pulled out of a pool and pronounced dead at the hospital.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, July 11 —
15-year-old Duong Ma died of drowning at the Sea Mist Hotel pool. He left his room at about 6 p.m. and his family went to go look for him about 3 hours later when he didn’t return.
Police later found his body in the pool.
Mobile, Alabama, July 12 —
A 74-year-old woman died after she was pulled from the bottom of a pool.
The woman was found in her powered wheel chair. Police are investigating the incident as a possible suicide.
Golden Valley, Arizona, July 13 —
A 1-year-old died after being pulled from his family’s above-ground pool.
The child was pulled from the water with no pulse but his father started CPR and he was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
Yuma, Arizona, July 13 —
Two brothers, a 1-year-old and a 2-yearold, drowned in a backyard pool. They were pronounced dead at the hospital.
North Fort Worth, Texas, July 13 —
A 5-year-old Rayshan Stevens died in the hospital days after he was pulled from a home swimming pool.
Tylertown, Mississippi, July 14 —
A missing 12-year-old girl visiting Paradise Ranch Resort was eventually found in the swimming pool.
CPR was attempted but the sheriff said she’d been under too long.
