‘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 prmote 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.
Phoenix, Arizona, March 2 —
A 1-year-old boy was in extremely critical condition after he was found unconscious in a hot tub.
Warren, Michigan, March 6 —
A 12-year-old boy is expected to make a full recovery thanks to the efforts of Officer Brooklier, who was at the TownPlace Suites Hotel pool for an unrelated call. The officer performed CPR on the boy for a full 2 minutes before the boy regained a pulse.
Polk County, Florida, March 11 —
A 6-year-old boy was pronounced deceased 8 days after he was found unresponsive in the jacuzzi at the Airbnb where the family was vacationing from a neighboring county.
OsceolaCounty,Florida,March17—
A nearly 1-year-old boy was pronounced deceased after he was found at the bottom of the swimming pool when he got out of the home undetected.
OsceolaCounty,Florida,March20—
A 2 1/ 2– year-old boy was pronounced deceased after he was found unresponsive in the swimming pool when he got out of the Airbnb undetected. The incident occurred while the family was vacationing from another state.
Houston County, Alabama, March 20 —
2-year-old Diego Caple died at the hospital after he was found floating in an aboveground pool.
