Children's Safety Zone

A young boy is in critical condition after being found at the bottom of a pool with his scooter in Phoenix, authorities said.

Glendale Fire Department officials said the boy, who is believed to be 2 or 3 years old, was found by his mother Friday afternoon at a home near 43rd Avenue and Greenway Road.

The mother jumped in and pulled the boy out, and the grandpa started CPR, officials said.

The boy was taken to a hospital with no pulse or respiration, but officials said he did have a heartbeat. Upon arrival to the hospital, the boy started breathing, officials said.

There was no safety fence surrounding the pool.

A baby died Friday after drowning in a bathtub in Mesa.

Mesa fire officials said the 6-month-old girl was in a bath chair with her 2-year-old brother in their Western Sun Apartment, which is in the area of Broadway and Gilbert roads.

Mesa Police Sgt. Ed Wessing said the mother had left the bathroom for a couple of minutes and returned to find the baby floating face down in the tub.

Paramedics were called around 11:15 a.m.

The child was treated by Mesa fire crews and transported by ambulance to Cardon Children’s Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Neighbors said the mother was too upset to even leave the hospital hours after the child’s death.

An 18-month-old is in the hospital but is expected to be OK after a near-drowning in the 3300 block of W. Grandview Road in Phoenix, police said.

Authorities tell CBS 5 the boy found his way outside and into the pool Thursday morning while in his grandparents’ care. Police say the child may have been in the pool for 3 to 5 minutes and was not breathing when he was pulled out of the water.

CPR was administered and the boy was breathing on his own when he was taken to the hospital. He is expected to recover.

The condition of a 2-year-old girl who was found face-down in a Glendale pool Tuesday night has been upgraded, authorities said.

The toddler was flown to St. Joseph’s Hospital & Medical Center in very critical condition.

Though she remains in serious condition Wednesday, the toddler’s condition appears to have improved, said Officer Gerald Sydnor, a Glendale police spokesman.

Emergency crews were called to a home in the 5200 block of North 71st Lane around 8 p.m. for a possible drowning after the girl’s siblings apparently found her in the pool, pulled her out and called 911, said Daniel Valenzuela, a Glendale fire spokesman.

Emergency crews treated the toddler on scene before flying her to the hospital.

The Glendale home is located just outside the Maryvale precinct of Phoenix, one of America’s leading neighborhoods for drownings a decade ago.

Fire officials launched a water-safety campaign targeting the west Phoenix neighborhood in 2002 after statistics revealed nearly two-thirds of all drownings in Arizona occurred in that area.

The campaign, which promoted proper fencing and encouraged residents to fill unwanted pools, dramatically reduced the number of pool-related submersions.

Valenzuela said Tuesday’s near drowning is unfortunate because the Glendale Fire Department conducted another water-safety campaign in that exact neighborhood on Saturday. Firefighters went door-to-door offering free inspections of pools, providing advice, water-safety tips and even free pool fences for some residents.

On average, 20 children have died in water-related incidents every year in Maricopa County since 2000, according to Valenzuela. Many others, he added, suffer lifelong problems related to prolonged submersion.

Valenzuela said this incident is a strong reminder for all residents to take precautionary measures to ensure the safety of their children.

TUCSON, AZ (KOLD) – Tucson Fire Department added a drowning prevention component to its Parent Preschool Program this year.

The program is delivered through a classroom visit to local preschools, recreation centers and summer school programs. Educational materials, and safety resources are also distributed to parents through the program.

Approximately 60 preschools participated in the program in 2010.

The purpose of the Parent/Preschool Program is to prevent childhood injury and death by raising awareness of the leading causes of death and injury to children and by teaching parents protective behaviors to prevent those injuries from occurring.

The program consists of two components:

• A preschool lesson during which children are taught how to react safely to a fire emergency.
• A parent class during which parents are taught how to prevent injury in the home by employing “the 3 Ss of Home Safety” “ﾓ Supervision, Security and Safety Training.

On Tuesday, May 10, 2011, at 9:30 a.m., at Los Ninos Head Start 5445 S. Alvernon Way, the TFD education team will be teaching drowning prevention to students and parents.

Tucson Fire Captain Trish Tracy says the 20-minute class has valuable information that could save lives.