‘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.

Bulloch County. Georgia, September 15 —

2-year-old Ja-Tim Miller was pronounced dead at the hospital after drowning in a home swimming pool.

Harris County, Texas, September 18 —

A 7-year-old autistic boy drowned in a pool after wandering away from

his older brother who had been watching him.

Waco, Texas, October 6 —

3-year-old Ignacio Luciano Calles Montecino drowned in an apartment swimming pool while attending a party.

Pocahontas County, West Virginia, October 3 —

A 2-year-old girl drowned in a swimming pool while on a field trip. Chaperones noticed she was missing and found her in floating in the pool.