‘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.

Ector County, Texas, June 20 —

A 2-year-old boy died after drowning in an aboveground pool.

Stephenville, Texas, June 24 —

4-year-old Colt Williams was found unresponsive in a pool at Splashville Water park and was pronounced dead at the hospital later that night.

Middlebury, Indiana, June 24 —

A2-year-old girl died after drowning in a residential swimming pool.

Omaha, Nebraska, June 25 —

6-year-old Kidus Endrias died after drowning in the Fun-Plex Waterpark wave pool.

Midvale, Utah, June 28 —

A 3-year-old boy left his apartment unnoticed and drowned in the property’s gated pool. Workers doing repairs on the hot tub left the gate propped open.

Clearwater, Florida, June 29 —

22-month-old Ezra Lynch was brought to the hospital in critical condition after he was found unresponsive in a swimming pool. He died an hour later.

Tinley Park, Illinois, June 30 —

5-year-old Hazel Gonzalez died after drowning in a pool at the White Water Canyon Water Park. She was accompanied to the park by 3 adults and lifeguards pulled her from the water.

West Frankfort, Illinois, July 1 —

3-year-old Wesley Yocum, who had been reported missing, was found dead by police in a neighbor’s pool.

Nashville, Tennessee, July 2 —

A 7-year-old autistic girl who had been reported missing from her home was found dead by police in a nearby fenced swimming pool.

Broward County, Florida, July 3 —

Two children, ages 1 1/2 and 3 1/2 years, were pronounced deceased three days after they were found unresponsive in the swimming pool when they got out of the Airbnb undetected while the family was vacationing from another state.

San Antonio, Texas, July 4 —

A 5-year-old was on life support after a drowning incident at a pool in the Valley Ranch Community Center.

Elkhart County, Indiana, July 4 —

10-year-old Kymani Collier drowned in the Nippanee public pool when lifeguards weren’t able to save him in time. His 9-year-old brother tried to save his life and was screaming for help but nobody could hear him.

Dekalb County, Georgia, July 5 —

A 12-year-old died at the hospital after drowning at a Holiday Inn Express swimming pool.

Leon County, Florida, July 5 —

A 3-year-old child was pronounced deceased after she was found unresponsive in the swimming pool when the family was visiting at a friend’s home.

Hilo, Hawaii, July 6 —

11-month-old Kuulei Keonaona Farley drowned in an inflatable pool in 1 foot of water.