Eight children were brought to hospitals for drowning incidents in Santa Clara County, and one of the children died last weekend.
Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional death in the United States.
The children taken to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center were young children. Their ages ranged from 18 months to 11 years old.
With the hot temperatures expected to soar this weekend, first responders are reminding parents about the dangers of drownings.
It only takes a few seconds for a day at the pool to turn tragic.
And drowning could be prevented, firefighters say.
“Adult supervision, not keeping things like pool furniture, put up a fence so kids can’t climb over, those sorts of things,” Menlo Park Fire Department Battalion Chief Thomas Calvert said.
Calvert says most parents are distracted when the unthinkable happens.
“I know for sure we’ve had kids that weren’t just being watched by an adult or supervisor that when they did notice the kid was in the bottom of the pool,” Calvert said. “There’s been other incidents where adults have ended up on the bottom of a swimming pool as well.”
The Pool Safely Campaign, a nationwide campaign run by the United State Consumer Product Safety Commission, gives some essential tips to keep you and your family safe in the waters.
First, designate an adult water watcher to supervise children at all times around the water. Second, learn how to swim and teach your child how to swim. Next, learn how to perform CPR on children and adults. Finally, teach children to stay away from pool drains, pipes, and other openings to avoid entrapments.
California law requires a fence with a self-closing, self-latching gate around all pools and spas.