‘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.

Speaktoparentsaboutremovingtoys 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.

Duval, Florida, March 27 —

A 2-year-old child was pronounced deceased the day after he was discovered unresponsive in the swimming pool during a family barbeque.

Seminole, Florida, April 1 —

A 13-year-old autistic child was pronounced deceased one day after she was found unresponsive in the community pool where she and her mother had gone to swim. The child was said to be a “good swimmer.”

Henderson, North Carolina, April 1 —

A 20-month-old girl died after she was found unresponsive in a home swimming pool.

Charlotte, Florida, April 2 —

A 1 1/2– year-old was pronounced deceased after he was found unresponsive in the swimming pool when he got out of the home undetected while the family was visiting at a friend’s house.

Duval, Florida, April 4 —

A 5-year-old child was pronounced deceased after she was found unresponsive in a swimming pool when she got out of the home undetected while the family was visiting at a friend’s home.

Clay County, Florida, April 4 —

A 5-year-old under the care of a babysitter drowned in a home swimming pool.

Orange, Florida, April 5 —

4-year-old child was pronounced deceased after she was found unresponsive in a resort swimming pool where the family was vacationing from another state.

Montgomery County, Texas, April 7 –

A 3-year-old was in critical condition after being found at the bottom of a swimming pool. When EMS arrived, they found the parents performing CPR on the child.

Murrieta, California, April 7 —

A 65-year-old woman died after she and her grandchildren were found unresponsive in her swimming pool.

The children, 1 1-year-old and 2-year-old were hospitalized in critical condition.

Guthrie Oklahoma, April 9 —

A 1 ½ year old child was pronounced dead at the hospital after being pulled from a swimming pool.

Miami Township, Ohio —

19-year-old Joshua Meade died at the hospital after he was found face down in a hot tub.