Children's Safety Zone

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.

A 6-year-old boy who was pulled from a Gilbert canal Saturday evening has died, according to officials.

Gilbert police Sgt. William Balafas said Brenan Thomson was pronounced dead at Cardon Children’s Hospital 8:20 p.m. Saturday after he and his younger brother were pulled from the Roosevelt Water Conservation District Canal several hours earlier.

Thomson’s 5-year-old brother, Rylan was also transported to the Mesa hospital and is expected to be OK, according to Balafas.

Mike Connor, with the Gilbert Fire Department, said the two boys went for a bike ride and when they didn’t return for quite some time, their father went to look for them and called police for help around 5:30 p.m.

Their bicycles were found along the canal bank near Pecos and Recker roads and Gilbert firefighters were called to help with the search.

Mike Bunting, a neighbor who lives near the canal, tells ABC15 he heard the boys’ cries for help and spotted them in the water.

“I don’t think they could get out of there. I couldn’t get out of there,” said Bunting, who helped to pull Rylan from the water and also found Brenan’s body upstream. “It was just surreal.”

It is unknown exactly how long the brothers had been in the canal.

“Can’t stop thinking about it. I just feel for the family,” said Bunting’s wife, Denise.

Balafas said an investigation into the incident is ongoing, which is standard practice for drowning cases.

PHOENIX – Authorities in the Valley responded to multiple drowning calls Sunday afternoon involving children that appeared to be OK in the end.

In Phoenix, a fire spokesman said crews responded to a drowning call near 79th Avenue and McDowell Road.

Fire officials said the toddler approximately 2 years old was under water for about one minute at a crowded swimming pool with family nearby.

The child started crying after performing CPR and seemed to be OK.

In another incident, a toddler near 24th Street and McDowell Road was found at the bottom of an above-ground swimming pool by other children playing in the pool.

The child was crying by the time fire crews arrived at the scene and was improving, a fire official said.

And in Chandler, fire spokesman Brad Miller said a girl about 2 years old was found floating in a swimming pool.

Her father jumped in and pulled her out of the pool, Miller said.

By the time fire crews arrived, the child was crying but was transported to a nearby hospital as a precaution.

Authorities have confirmed the identity of a body discovered in a car pulled from a golf course pond in Surprise.

Leigh Rae Donahue of Wickenburg, who had been reported missing, was positively identified Thursday. Her body was found inside her burgundy Buick after it was pulled from the Desert Springs Golf Club pond in Sun City Grand on Sept. 8, according to Surprise and Wickenburg police.

Donahue, 50, had been missing since Aug. 12.

Surprise and Wickenburg police are still investigating her death.

A 76-year-old man found face down in a pool at a house on Tucson’s northeast side died this evening, authorities said.

The man was identified as Keith Bauman, said Deputy Dawn Barkman, a Pima County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.

Paramedics from the Rural/Metro Fire Department responded to the house in the 5900 block of North Sabino Canyon Road shortly before 6:30 p.m. and pulled Bauman out of the pool, authorities said.

Paramedics were unable to resuscitate him, said Rural/Metro Capt. Grant Cesarek.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department took over the investigation.

A family member who telephoned 911 reported the incident as a drowning, but the cause of death has yet to be determined by the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office, said Cesarek.