‘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.
Duval County, Florida, July 21 —
A 2-year-old child was pronounced deceased after she was found unresponsive in the family’s swimming pool when she got out of the home undetected.
Okaloosa County, Florida, July 22 —
A 1-year-old child was pronounced deceased five days after he was found unresponsive in the family’s swimming pool when he got out of the home while he was left alone in the residence for several minutes.
Phoenix, Arizona, July 25 —
A 3-year-old girl died after being pulled from a backyard pool.
San Antonio, Texas, July 26 —
A 4-year-old girl who had been reported missing for 30 minutes during a family gathering was found drowned in the home’s swimming pool.
Henrietta Township, Michigan, July 26 —
A 2-year-old boy was pronounced dead at the hospital after he accidentally
fell into a home pool without his family’s knowledge.
ChambersCounty,Texas,July28—
A 12-year-old boy who fell into a pool died.
Cape Coral, Florida, July 29 —
A man and his infant grandchild were found dead in the Liberty Park Apartments swimming pool. The two had been floating in the water for an extended period before they were found by the woman who cleans the pool.
Anderson County, South Carolina, July 29 —
18-month-old Josue Hernandez was pronounced dead at the hospital after he was pulled from a pool by his father.
Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, July 31 —
6-year-old Gunner McMillan drowned at a neighbor’s swimming pool after he and another boy snuck in through two fences while the homeowner was in the garage, unaware of the boys’ presence. When McMillan got into trouble in the deep end, his friend called for help and the homeowner dove into the pool, pulled the boy out, and started CPR. The boy died at the hospital.
San Jose, California, July 31 —
A student who was in critical condition after drowning in a summer camp program swimming pool has died. The student was found floating in the Harker School’s lower school campus pool, which serves children from kindergarten through grade 5.
St Augustine, Florida, August 2 —
A father and his twin 10-year-old sons died after drowning in the Rodeway Inn swimming pool. The father was airlifted to the hospital while the children taken by ambulance. They died at the hospital.
Nags Head, North Carolina, August 6 —
A 10-year-old boy who was found unresponsive in the Colonial Inn swimming pool was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Surprise, Arizona, August 6 —
A 2-year-old was in the hospital in unknown condition after being found in a pool.
It was estimated the child had been underwater for about 5 minutes.
