‘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.

Orange, Florida, March 5 —

A nearly 1-year-old child was pronounced deceased 3 days after he was hospitalized when he was found in his family’s swimming pool.

Hillsborough, Florida, March 10 —

A 5 1/2– year-old girl was pronounced deceased 3 days after she was found unresponsive in a community swimming pool where she went to swim with her mother and siblings.

Carbon County, Pennsylvania, March 11 —

A 9-year-old girl drowned at the Split Rock Resort swimming pool. The girl was taken to a hospital but was unable to be revived.

Port St. Lucie, Florida, March 15 —

A 4-year-old boy drowned in a community pool.

A family member observed the child underwater and the boy was immediately removed from the pool and CPR started.

The child was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.

Lee, Florida, March 18 —

A 1 1/2– year-old boy was pronounced deceased after he was found unresponsive in the hot tub when he got out of the home undetected.