Children's Safety Zone

The pool looks so inviting, especially when it’s so hot outside. But it can also be deadly for our kids.

That’s why SWIMkids USA is helping keep your family safe

Starting now through Monday, September 2, they are giving away water safety bags to make sure you have eyes on the water for the weekend.

These bags include a wrist coil with a whistle so adults can signal for help in case of an emergency.

There are also several fliers to help with drowning prevention and CPR, and a coupon good for one month of parent-tot lessons.

They only have 200 bags to give away and they will have them on hand until Monday.

Even more, SWIMkids USA offers free swim lessons for infants from newborns to six months on a regular basis.

It’s a half hour parent-tot class that is held Monday through Friday at 10 a.m. and Saturday at 9 a.m.

So get out and enjoy the water this Labor Day weekend, but make sure everyone is safe.

2725 W Guadalupe Rd  Mesa, AZ 85202
480-820-9109

An ex-pitcher for the Chicago Cubs drowned at Bartlett Lake northeast of Phoenix Sunday, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said.

The body of Frank Castillo, 44, was pulled from the water at 2:26 p.m. Monday after a jet skier saw it floating.

Castillo played for the Chicago Cubs from 1991 to 1997, the Colorado Rockies, the Detroit Tigers, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Boston Red Sox and the Florida Marlins.

The Red Sox held a moment of silence for Castillo before Monday night’s game against Tampa Bay.

Sheriff’s deputies said Castillo and one of his friends had rented a pontoon boat just before 2:30 p.m. Sunday and had been on the lake for only about an hour when the ex-ballplayer got into the water to go swimming.

A short time later the friend noticed the victim had not resurfaced and called 911.

MCSO’s dive team searched for about two hours, but due to limited visibility and lighting conditions, scrubbed the operation until daylight.  

The dive team re-entered the water at about 8 a.m. Monday in what they classified as a recovery operation. Castillo’s body was discovered some 6 1/2 hours later.

The sheriff’s office said water in the area was about 25 feet deep and divers only had three-foot visibility.

Bartlett Lake is about 17 miles northeast of Carefree.

A 2-year-old girl went under water at a pool in Peoria over the Labor Day weekend and a neighbor is being credited for helping save her.

Peoria police spokeswoman Amanda Jacinto said a call came in early Monday night that a 2-year-old had been under the water in the pool for an unknown amount of time at a home near 79th Avenue and Greenway Road.

A neighbor performed CPR and the girl was breathing by the time emergency crews arrived.

She was conscious and crying when she was taken to an area hospital.

A 4-year-old boy is lucky to be alive after his 10-year-old cousin pulled him from a backyard pool Monday afternoon.

Avondale Fire Department officials say the boy was found around 1:45 p.m. at the bottom of a pool near 115th Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road.

Officials say the boy’s 10-year-old cousin jumped in the pool and pulled the boy out. CPR was performed on the boy until he started breathing again.

He was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital in stable condition, officials at the scene said.

GLENDALE, AZ – Fire officials say a 3-year-old boy is in critical condition after he was found at the bottom of a Glendale swimming pool.Glendale fire spokesman Danny Cenese said the 3-year-old boy made his way into the backyard near 75th Avenue and Union Hills Drive around 3 p.m. Tuesday.He was alone at the time and somehow made it over a small fence, Cenese said.

via FD: Boy found at bottom of Glendale swimming pool.