‘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.
Greenville, South Carolina, July 26 —
15-month-old Ty Cummings was found unresponsive in an aboveground pool. He died early the following day.
Deptford Township, New Jersey, July 25 —
A 5-year-old boy drowned in an inground pool at a family member’s house. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Wichita, Kansas, July 26 —
A 14-month-old girl was in serious condition after being pulled from an aboveground pool.
DeSoto, Florida, July 26 —
A 3-year-old child was pronounced deceased after he was found unresponsive in the family’s swimming pool when he got out of the home undetected.
Columbus, Ohio, July 27 —
15-year-old Christian Scott died three days after a drowning incident at a pool party. About 30 teenagers were swimming or playing near the home pool when someone felt a body under water but could tell because the water was cloudy.
Las Vegas, Nevada, July 27 —
2-year-old Judiah Berry died after he was pulled unresponsive from his family’s hot tub.
East Hartford, Connecticut, July 28 —
16-year-old Tresor Boroze died after drowning in a public pool where he and friends and snuck into after midnight. His friends couldn’t explain why he jumped off the diving board since he didn’t know how to swim.
Linden, New Jersey, July 31 —
A 2-year-old boy drowned in his grandmother’s pool. Family members located the boy in the pool and began CPR immediately but he was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Flagler, Florida, August 4 —
A 2 1/ 2- year- o ld child was pronounced deceased after she was found unresponsive in the family’s above-ground swimming pool.
