‘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.

Mesquite, Texas, July 14 —

A 6-year-old child drowned in a swimming pool and died that day. ———

Mansfield, Texas, July 14 —

5-year-old Joel Trejo died at a hospital after he was pulled out of a pool. ———

Harvey County, Kansas, July 16 —

A 15-year-old girl died in the hospital after she was pulled from a home swimming pool. ———

Daviess County, Kentucky, July 17 —

37-year-old Cassie Head drowned while swimming alone in a home pool.

She died at the hospital. ———

Lake Wales, Florida, July 17 —

4-year-old Brantlee Reynolds was celebrating his and another family member’s birthday when he drowned in a swimming pool. A 12-year-old neighbor found the boy and pulled him out of the water but it was too late. ———

Clovis, California, July 17 —

A 3-year-old boy was pronounced dead the day after a drowning incident at a home swimming pool.

Abbeville, Georgia, July 18 —

17-year-old Mason Harris died of apparent drowning in a residential pool. The coroner said he was in good health, was a cross country runner, and swam every day. ———

Middletown, Ohio, July 20 —

14-year-old Mykiara Jones drowned at the Land of Illusion’s Aqua Adventures Waterpark.

It took about a half-hour for a park lifeguard to locate her in the water, because the water was “like a pond,” a newspaper reported. ———

Arlington, Texas, July 21 —

A 60-year-old man drowned in a home swimming pool where he was working.

The man worked for a pool maintenance company and was found in the water by the homeowners. ———

Fox River Grove, Illinois, July 23 —

a 5-year-old girl who was found in the backyard pool likely died of drowning, according to the coroner. ———

Harford County, Maryland, July 25 —

A 4-year-old was found dead in a swimming pool. No other details were provided.