‘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.

Las Vegas, Nevada, June 7 —

A 2-year-old girl who was in critical condition following a drowning incident died at the hospital.

Bayonne, New Jersey, June 8 —

Brothers 19-year-old Chu Ming Zheng and 16-year-old Jack Jiang, drowned in the deep end of the Lincoln Community School with lifeguards on duty. They were taken to the hospital where they were pronounced dead.

Boston, Massachusetts, June 10 —

A 12-year-old boy who nearly died after he was discovered at the bottom of a summer camp pool survived after being air-transported to the hospital. His condition was unknown.

Texas City, Texas, June 11 —

A 4-year-old girl drowned in an apartment complex pool. It wasn’t clear if she was being supervised.

Shreveport, Louisiana, June 13 —

A 4-year-old girl died at the hospital after drowning in the Southwood Village apartment complex pool.

Indianapolis, Indiana, June 14 —

5-year-old Willie Alexander, Jr. died at the hospital after drowning in an apartment swimming pool.

Waynesboro, Georgia, June 14 —

A 4-year-old boy died after drowning in a home swimming pool. He had just started swim lessons the day before.

Lake View, Alabama, June 15 —

A 3-year-old girl died after a drowning incident at a community pool.

Okaloosa, Florida, June 17 —

A 1 1/2-year-old child was pronounced

deceased after she was found unresponsive in the family’s swimming pool.

Glendale, Arizona, June 24 —

After two brothers, a 3-year-old and a 4-year-old, were involved in a drowning incident, one of the two boy died immediately, while the other remained in critical condition for 2 days before succumbing to his injuries. It was believed that one of the brothers attempted to save the other in the water.

Louisville, Kentucky, June 26 —

Two boys, 11-year-old Fazil Asandjal and his cousin, 9-year-old Chandrack Alimasi, drowned at a neighbor ’s house where they were found by police responding to missing children. Police believe they accessed the murky pool through a hole in the fence.

Teaneck, New Jersey, June 26 —

A7-year-old girl drowned in a home pool that her family had rented for a party. The girl was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Citrus, Florida, June 26 —

A 2 1/2-year-old child was pronounced deceased after he was found unresponsive in the family’s swimming pool during a birthday party.

Lake, Florida, June 27 —

An 8-year-old autistic child was pronounced deceased after he was found unresponsive in a neighbor’s swimming pool when he got out of the home undetected while his father was sleeping.