‘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.

Bakersfield, California, May 14 —

5-year-old Oliver Michael Shine was found unresponsive in a home pool.He was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.

Deltona, Florida, May 15 —

A 67-year-old man fell out of his motorized wheelchair into his home’s pool and drowned.The man’s wife discovered his body in the pool when she returned home from work.

Whitman County, Washington, May 17 —

A 2-year-old girl drowned in an unused swimming pool.The girl had been playing with siblings when she went missing.

After 15 minutes, she was discovered in a pool that had less than 2 feet of water.She was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Palm Bay, Florida, May 18 —

A 2-year-old girl under the care of a babysitter drowned in an apartment complex pool.She wandered to the pool with an unrelated 8-year-old and fell in.

Mahwah, New Jersey, May 18 —

A 3-year-old boy was unconscious but breathing on his own after he was found in someone’s pool.The boy was airlifted to a hospital.