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EDGEWATER -- News of the Sunday drowning of a 4-year-old girl in a backyard pool, the latest in a series of pool dwnings involving pre-school children, prompted Edgewater Fire Services Capt. Jill Danigel to put out a press release with pool safety tips.
Kimberly Heyward of South Daytona is the third small child so far this year in Volusia County to drown in a pool. A 4-year-old boy drowned in a pool in Deltona in January. A 2-year-old boy drowned in a pool in February.
Among Danigel's pool safety tips:
• Designate a responsible adult to watch young children while in the bath and all children swimming or playing in or around water. Adults should not be involved in any other distracting activity (such as reading, playing cards, talking on the phone, or mowing the lawn) while supervising children.
• Always swim with a buddy. Swim in areas guarded by a lifeguard whenever possible, if at a larger city or civic organization pool..
• Avoid drinking alcohol before or during any water activities. Do not drink alcohol while supervising children.
• Learn to swim. Be aware that the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend swimming classes as the primary means of drowning prevention for children younger than 4. Constant, careful supervision and barriers such as pool fencing are necessary even when children have completed swimming lessons.
• Learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). CPR performed by bystanders has been shown to improve outcomes in drowning victims. Contact Edgewater Fire-Rescue at 424-2445 to sign up for a CPR class.
• Do not use air-filled or foam toys, such as “water wings”, “noodles”, or inner-tubes, in place of life jackets (personal flotation devices). These toys are not designed to keep swimmers safe.
• Install a four-sided, isolation pool fence that completely separates the house and play area of the yard from the pool area. The fence should be at least 4 feet high. Use self-closing and self-latching gates that open outward with latches that are out of reach of children. Also, consider additional barriers such as automatic door locks or alarms to prevent access or notify you if someone enters the pool area.
• Remove floats, balls and other toys from the pool and surrounding area immediately after use. The presence of these toys may encourage children to enter the pool area or lean over the pool and potentially fall in.
Anyone living in Edgewater with questions is asked to call the Edgewater Building Department at 424-2400 x1514 for more information about pool protection.