Monday, May 6, 2013

Pool safety for parents after two pool tragedies

Posted: May 05, 2013 6:11 PM Updated: May 06, 2013 8:21 AM

By Matt Mendes - email

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) -

As Summer months approach, first responders are reminding everyone to be extra cautious around swimming pools.

In the latest drowning, there was no gate. Fire officials are not calling it an accident but rather a preventable incident.

In this pool safety commercial, it happened in an instant. A child gets into the pool, moms not paying attention and seconds later the child drowns.

It's a message fire officials and pool safety advocates are hoping resonates with parents.

It's not even Summer but already we've seen two back to back pool tragedies.

"I had a tough time with it last night because I'm a parent," said Adam Goldberg, Northwest Fire Captain.

They got called to a house party near Cortaro and Old Father. A 3-year-old girl was missing for 15 minutes. They found her in the pool face down. Their efforts to perform CPR were unsuccessful.

And, just several hours before that, a 4-year-old boy almost drowned in a pool at an apartment complex near Pima and Swan. Luckily, someone saw him and rescued him.

"Drowning sometimes is a silent killer. Where children just fall in and they don't make a noise," said Goldberg. "They sink down very quickly.

Goldberg says to remember the ABC's. A-Adult supervision. B-Barriers around the pool. C-CPR.

"Really adult supervision is the key. That's the only one that's 100% you can make a difference," said Cheyenne Arreola, a child safety advocate.

Arreola's grandson Ethan almost drowned 4 years ago. He's now confined to a wheelchair.

"I guess it's kind of hard to say what's worse, someone passing away or someone nearly drowning. The after effects of a near drown are life long," said Arreola.

It's been tough on her family and through awareness, she hopes she can prevent other pool tragedies.

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http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/22166794/pool-safety-for-parents-after-two-pool-tragedies

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