‘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 the 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.

Phoenix, Arizona, January 5 –

A 3-year-old boy who fell into a backyard pool and was taken to the hospital in critical condition later died. First responders arrived to find people performing CPR on the boy, who was not breathing on his own and had no heartbeat.

Melville, New York, January 13 —

A 7-year-old girl was taken to the hospital in critical condition after she was found unresponsive in the Marriott, Long Island, New York pool.

Paradise Valley, Arizona, January 15 —

An 18-month-old girl was in extremely critical condition after family members found her at the bottom of a swimming pool.

Family performed CPR while waiting for first responders to transport her to the hospital.

Harris County, Texas, January 23 —

A 3-year-old boy was pronounced dead after being found unresponsive in a residential pool.