‘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.

Martin County, Florida, May 13 –

A 3-year-old girl died while swimming with her 7- and 9-year-old brothers. The children were jumping in and out of the water and the girl had been wearing floaties when one of the boys saw a floaty on the water and the girl at the bottom of the pool.

Polk County, Florida, May 13 —

A 9-year-old blind autistic child was pronounced deceased after he was found unresponsive in the swimming pool when he gained access to the pool undetected at the Airbnb where the family was vacationing from another state.

Sarasota County, Florida, May 14 —

A 11/ 2– year- old child was pronounced deceased 2 days after he was found submerged in the swimming pool when he got away from his parents during a Mother’s Day party at the family’s residence.

Polk County, Florida, May 15 —

A 2 1 / 2– year- old child was pronounced deceased after he was found unresponsive in a hotel swimming pool where the mother took her children to go swimming.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, May 16 —

A 4-year-old autistic child was pronounced deceased after he was retrieved from the family’s swimming pool several minutes after he was reported missing from the residence.

Saint Lucie County, Florida, May 17 —

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.

Machesney Park, Illinois, May 18 —

A 3-year-old boy named Kaden drowned in a backyard pool while visiting a family member’s home.

Clinton, Mississippi, May 19 —

15-year-old Jonas Pippins died after he was pulled unresponsive from a YMCA swimming pool.

Phoenix, Arizona, May 19 —

An 11-year-old girl was in critical condition after getting her hair stuck on an underwater light fixture in a backyard pool where she had been playing volleyball.

Montgomery County, Indiana, May 20 —

A 3-year-old girl drowned in an aboveground swimming pool.

Northport, Alabama, May 21 —

10-year-old RJ Paulk Jr. died at the hospital six days after drowning at a pool party celebrating the end of his team’s baseball season.

Gorham, Maine, May 22 —

A toddler died after drowning in the Friendly Village mobile home park. The boy had gone missing from his home and somehow got past a locked 5-foot fence.

From page 16

Phoenix, Arizona, May 22 —

A 2-year-old boy died after being pulled from a backyard pool. The pool had a fence.

Jacksonville, Florida, May 23 —

3-year-old child was pronounced deceased after he was found at the bottom of the swimming pool. The incident occurred when the father brought the twin sibling inside to use the restroom while the child remained outside unattended. The pool had a gate around it.

Glendale, Arizona, May 23 —

A 4-year-old girl died at the hospital after she drowned in a home pool.

North Brunswick, New Jersey, May 25 —

A 4-year-old boy drowned in a home swimming pool.

Polk County, Florida, May 25 —

A 3-year-old autistic child was pronounced deceased after he was found unresponsive in the swimming pool when the toddler got out of the home undetected while the family was visiting at a relative’s home.