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Easy Steps To Prevent Swimming Pool Drownings
Posted by: Craig A. Knapp
June 13, 2011

Arizona is known for its great weather. Our terrain and dry heat bring thousands of visitors every year to enjoy golf, hiking, sunny skies, and more. However, many Arizonans' weather appreciation runs dry once the summer months and 120-degree weather kicks in. Our retreat? The POOL!

Unfortunately, however, many safety precautions are ignored upon by pool owners, causing deadly outcomes. Due to Arizona's high number of pools, we also have a high number of drowning cases. Sadly, Arizona has the leading number of drowning cases for children aged 1-4. The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) provides a breakdown of Arizona drowning cases in 2009. The chart shows that ages 1-4 and 65+ have the highest number of drowning cases.

The chart proves that drowning prevention and pool safety is not only applicable to young children, it's applicable to everyone. Here are some tips on water safety to help prevent drowning cases year round:

1.) Watch your loved ones around water. Too many of deaths by drowning are caused by someone neglecting to watch children, and even the elderly, around water. If a child or senior is outside, whether they're in the pool or not, someone should be watching them. Adults should take every precaution to keep an eye on those who are susceptible to drowning. Remember.....TWO SECONDS IS TOO LONG!

2.) Put up a fence completely around the pool. With this, the fence should be tall enough so that a child could not climb over it and the latch should be high enough or complicated enough so that it is difficult to undo. The best thing you can do is have key access to the pool, and keep the key hidden and out of reach. Also, to avoid young ones getting through the fence, make sure the bars are close enough together and close enough to the ground so that little ones can't go through or under it.

3.) Take swimming lessons. This applies mostly to children. It is wise for parents to take a swimming lesson with their child. This teaches them safety tips when swimming and also establishes the idea that when they swim, it should always be with you or an adult watching.

4.) Keep toys away. Many Arizona drowning cases happen because children see a toy in the pool and want it. By putting toys away and out of sight, there will be no increased temptation for your child to enter the pool area.

5.) Don't ignore the indoors, either. If you have a child or elderly resident in your home, take precautions inside to keep them from the outside, as well. Too often, guardians and caretakers believe that the person who drowned was inside, when they were really outside. To avoid this, keep doors locked. Again, make sure the locks are hard to get through. If you can install key exit only, this will require them to ask you to go outside. With this, however, make sure it is always locked. Another wise idea is to install an alarm-type system to let you know when someone is going outside. Whether it's a bell on the door handle, or a motion censor, extra precaution is always best.

Arizona is not alone in drowning cases. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), unintentional drowning, as in not inflicted upon someone by another, is in the top 10 leading causes of unintentional injury deaths from birth to age 54 across the United States.

Regardless of the season, time of day, age, or circumstance, water safety is important. If you're an Arizona resident, you may have noticed that the nightly weather man on Fox 10 Arizona, Dave Munsey, signs off with the warning "watch your kids around water" every night, all year. If we applied this mantra to our everyday life, the chance of reducing the number of drowning cases is achievable.

If your loved one has been the victim of drowning due to the negligence of someone else (e.g., property owner, public pool life guard, school sponsored event, etc.) give the lawyers at Knapp & Roberts a call. Let us help you spread the word about water safety in an effort to prevent this from happening to someone else. We care about you and your struggle.

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