Children's Safety Zone

PHOENIX – Police have identified a teenage boy found dead in a west Phoenix pool Thursday.

Phoenix police responded to a Maryvale park Thursday afternoon after city employees found a body at the bottom of the pool’s deep end.

Phoenix Police Sgt. Steve Martos said two City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation employees were checking pool chemicals just before 3 p.m. when they discovered the body of 14-year-old Edwin Franco.

Phoenix fire officials responded to the scene and pronounced Franco deceased.

Investigators determined all access points to the pool area were locked.

The 13-foot wrought iron fence gate was also locked and secured.

Detectives reportedly located a grocery shopping cart on its side on the outside of the wrought iron fence.

Martos said it is believed Franco might have used the shopping cart to get into the pool area.

Foul play is not suspected in his death.

PHOENIX – On Monday afternoon, a Valley mother found her 2-year-old son floating in a backyard swimming pool near 113th Avenue and Indian School Road.

Phoenix firefighters arrived just minutes after getting the call, but sadly the little boy died.

“It took the units three minutes to respond. That is three minutes the child will go without oxygen. Let’s prevent that because you can save a life and those initial breaths and CPR truly, truly makes a difference on the outcome of the child,” said Phoenix Deputy Fire Chief Frank Salomon.

To get out that message, firefighters went out in the neighborhood, knocked on doors, and even stopped people in their cars reminding them about the importance of water safety.

“We cannot continue to have our children die in backyard pools. We’re leading the country in this tragedy,” Salomon.

Six children have drowned in Maricopa County, according to Children’s Safety Zone, an organization that works with local fire departments and hospitals to collect statistics on water-related incidents.

“Don’t live in a state of denial, don’t sit there and think this is only happening to other people. It can happen to you. And if you go interview the family this happened to yesterday, they would have never thought that their little 2-year-old would be dead today,” said Salomon.

A 2-year-old boy pulled from the family pool of a far west Phoenix home has died, according to Phoenix Fire Department officials.

The toddler was at the home near Indian School Road and 113th Avenue with his mother, grandmother and grandfather.

The boy had been missing for 30 minutes before his mother found him in the pool, said Capt. Scott Walker of the Phoenix Fire Department.

Authorities believe the boy crawled through the doggy door to the backyard. No other children were at the home.

Walker said the pool did not have barriers around it and had 3 feet of discolored water. The grandfather performed CPR on the toddler until authorities arrived around 1:40 p.m., Walker said.

The boy was flown to a Banner-Estrella Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead.

A 1-year-old girl was taken to a local hospital Monday after she slipped under water while in the bathtub at a home in Peoria, officials said.

A relative was babysitting the little girl along with two other young children near 72nd Avenue and Happy Valley Road, Peoria Fire Department Deputy Chief, Larry Rooney said.

All three children were in the bathtub when the babysitter left to use the restroom. During that time, the baby slipped under water, Rooney said.

The woman found the 1-year-old under water after one of the children yelled for help.

When police arrived, the little girl was awake and crying. She was transported to a local hospital as a precaution but was later released to her mother, Rooney said.

Chandler fire fighters are seeking volunteers to join them in adoor-to-door campaign March 26 to pass out flyers in an effort toincrease safety around water and prevent tragic incidents.

The goal of the campaign – from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. that Saturday -is to educate residents about the importance of careful supervisionof children around water. It’s in response to a recent high numberof water-related incidents involving infants and small children inChandler.

Since 2008, Chandler has had 37 water-related incidents andsince Dec. 26, has had five including one that resulted in afatality in February, according to information from the ChandlerFire Department. Of the nine water-related incidents last year,five required CPR.

Chandler fire personnel are urging parents to lock the gates offences around pools, and when there are activities at homeinvolving water to constantly supervise kids.

“The majority of our drowning calls are to good homes with goodparents, where a combination of circumstances and opportunity cometogether to create a tragic event,” said battalion chief Val GaleJr. “Unfortunately, we have experienced more of these types ofcalls than normal recently and want to make sure we get the messageout: Secure water sources, supervise our children, teach thechildren to swim and learn CPR.”

Chandler Fire Chief Jeff Clark set an ambitious goal of sharingthe message with every household in the city. He is appealing toall segments of the community to assist in this effort, includingscouting groups, churches, businesses, service clubs and otherorganizations.

“We are counting on the good people of Chandler to step up andmake a difference,” Clark said.

Anyone who wishes to participate in the neighborhood walksshould call (480) 782-2122 prior to March 26. Volunteers mustprovide their own transportation to the neighborhood they areassigned.

Children under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or adult.

Individuals or groups that cannot participate on March 26 butwould still like to help are asked to call (480) 782-2122. ChandlerFire Department staff will assign a neighborhood and provide thematerials noted above. The volunteers can then walk thatneighborhood at their convenience.

Additional water safety tips and drowning prevention informationis available on the fire department website atwww.chandleraz.gov/fire.