Drownings Can Be Prevented

Orange County California There has been 18 deaths due to drowning since January 1st 2007. The most recent occurred in a backyard during a party. More than a dozen adults were in the backyard and about ten children in the pool swimming. One little girl in the pool was wearing floats ,and according to people at the party was swimming face down a lot, apparently holding her breath. After a short time the adults told the children to get out of the pool to eat, all got out but the little girl who was swimming face down. Unfortunately she was not swimming face down; she was not swimming at all. The girl was pulled out and Fire Rescue was called, she did not survive the incident. In party situations and any time children are in the pool ALWAYS have a designated watcher or life guard present to oversee the safety of those in the pool...DROWNINGS CAN BE PREVENTED.

Installing Pool Fencing Can Save Your Child's Life

With summer right around the corner and school ending, it is time to think about pool safety!

Swimming pool drownings are the leading cause of death for children under the age of five years old. So give serious consideration this summer to installing pool fencing for your home swimming pool for your child, grandchild or neighborhood children.

• Pool fencing is intended to prevent a child from having access to a swimming pool unless a responsible adult is present.
• Pool fencing that is at least 4 feet high, with vertical openings less than 4-inches wide and with a self-closing and self-latching pool gate is considered adequate.
• The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the installation of pool fencing be at least 5 feet high. These characteristics distinguish pool fencing from property-line fencing, which merely separates yards with swimming pools from neighboring properties.

Sacramento Sees 9 Pool Drownings or Near Drownings Since April 1

From the News 10 ABC article, "Family Recounts Toddler's Near Drowning".

"Since April 1, there have been nine drownings or near drownings of children in pools and spas in the Sacramento area. "

A decision to purchase a pool fence or a pool net for your swimming pool is wise and responsible. Drowning can occur in as little as three seconds and is a leading cause of accidental death in children under five years of age. Additionally, each year there are many young victims of near drowning who require emergency room treatment, many of whom suffer permanent damage. A majority of children who are involved in these tragic accidents have been missing from sight for a very short period of time and were last seen in the home. Even though there is no substitute for adult supervision, a pool fence or net provides an additional layer of protection between a precious child and a pool which helps guard against disaster.

Adam Horn
Pool Guard of Sacramento
916-673-3152

Safety Fences Help Prevent Swimming Pool Drownings

AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION COULD SAVE A LIFE - Perhaps YOUR child’s life!

In preventing the drowning of children and for all swimming pool safety, the most important choice you make is the type of removable mesh safety fencing you choose for your swimming pool area - including the pool safety gate.

Talk with a contractor who is willing to visit your home and evaluate your needs based on the size, shape and location of your swimming pool, how many children you have and how old they are and any other special needs you might need to consider. Families should consider the safety of their pets around a swimming pool as well. Beyond keeping your pet safer from drowning, it can keep them safer if you are doing any special cleaning of your swimming pool or pool decking.

The most important hint we can offer is to be sure the latch on the gate is not able to be reached by small children, the baby safety fence if used, should be at least four feet high around the swimming pool area. There shouldn’t be any places where your child’s leg or even their foot can fit into that would enable them to climb over the fence.

Vero Beach Florida Pool Drowning

We had a drowning in Vero Beach just a couple of weeks ago. A two year old boy scurried away from the sight of his adult supervision for just a few seconds and…This tragic incident happened in a very well to do neighborhood near the beach. Accidents can and do happen to ANYONE and EVERYONE. This is one ‘accident’ that we have a choice in preventing. We got a few extra calls for safety product estimates after citizens read the news in the paper, but it was too late to help prevent that tragedy in this family’s life.

I personally know a few families who have lost children to drownings and it NEVER ends well. It’s a devastating occurance for everyone involved right down to the paramedics who attempt to revive the child. One of my good friends was a medic on this site. He is a true professional and yet he was absolutely moved by this scene. Here he is, a 250 lb. giant of a man, a father of four and a top notch paramedic, and he helpless in his attempts to help this little boy or his family. He said the grandmother was simply wilted and crushed by the entire ordeal.

Maybe I’m preaching to the choir, but in a nutshell, the more layers of protection, the better. A safety fence or net would have almost certainly given the adult in charge the necessary seconds or minute to find this young boy before he ever even got to the water. It would have changed these people’s lives forever. What’s that worth?

It makes my skin crawl for some to suggest that these tragic incidents are a “way to market safety products”. I don’t ever want to take someone’s emotions and play games with them. It also makes me very sad, angry and a host of other feelings, when a simple and relatively inexpensive device like a pool fence is seen by some as an eyesore, inconvenience or waste of money at the expense of a little boy’s or girl’s life. I just can’t justify being silent about this issue. It’s a mission and I’m hoping many more people will be added to the cause before I have to read or hear about another child drowning.

Sincerely,
Joel Molinari
Pool Guard of the Treasure Coast