Swimming pool safety measures keep fun in summer outdoor activity

By Elsie Aquino/Tell Us Detroit

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DETROIT (Tell Us Det) - Within days of celebrating his second birthday, Jomon Davis, Jr. was found unresponsive in his family's pool after his mother, grandmother, and aunt went inside their house and didn't realize the child wasn't with them, police reported. Paramedics could not revive the boy. “This is a horrible reminder that it only takes a moment for tragedy to strike. Drowning is silent and happens very quickly. Whether it's a pool, pond or bathtub, it does not take long and can happen in an inch of water.”

An average of 390 children 14 or younger drown each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control, and drowning is a leading cause of death for children under five. However, child drowning can be prevented.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) released a series of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) about the Pool Safely campaign illustrating how simple steps save lives at pools and spas. Partnering with the American Red Cross and the YMCA of the USA, CPSC produced broadcast, print, and radio PSAs that are being distributed to media outlets across the country in English and Spanish.

The CPSC has launched an educational campaign, Pool Safely: Simple Steps Save Lives, a first-of-its-kind, national public education effort to reduce child drowning and non-fatal submersions, and entrapments in swimming pools and spas.

The local community will benefit from information about this important subject: please help prevent heartbreak for other families in your area.

For more information on pool and spa drowning and entrapments go to http://www.poolsafely.gov/ or feel free to call 202-667-0901 or email juila.gotwald@gmail.com.