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.
NOMW
Broward County, Florida, October 10 —
A 1 1/ 2– year- old child was pronounced deceased after she was found unresponsive in the swimming pool when she got out of the home undetected. The incident occurred when the family was staying with relatives in another county during the hurricane.
Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, October 10 —
An 8-year-old boy died more than 2 months after drowning in his babysitter’s apartment complex pool. The boy and his sister were both found in the pool, and medics were able to revive the girl.
Pompano Beach, Florida, October 10 —
2-year-old Sinai Cabrera was pronounced dead at the hospital after drowning in a swimming pool.
Bay County, Florida, October 15 —
A 1 1/ 2– year- old child was pronounced deceased after she was found unresponsive in the family’s swimming pool.
Honolulu, Hawaii, October 27 —
A 2-year-old boy was fighting for his life a month after suffering a drowning incident in his backyard pool.
Doctors believe he may have been without oxygen for 10 minutes and MRI scans show substantial brain damage.
Moreno Valley, California, October 27 —
2-year-old Jaxson Uriarte is in the hospital after he was found in his backyard pool. His condition was not reported.
