Children's Safety Zone

Water-safety officials are urging residents not to let the back-to-school season distract them from watching children around water.

Many parents shift their focus from water safety to back-to-school in August, but it is still important to be vigilant supervising children and ensuring there are proper barriers between them and water, Buckeye Fire Chief Bob Costello said.

“I don’t want people to be complacent,” he said. “I know people are busy right now. It’s the first week of school in a lot of areas around here and that’s where everybody’s mind-set is, but those pools are still there and we just cannot forget about the kids around the water.”

Tanja Tanner, Goodyear Fire Department community-education coordinator, and Lori Schmidt, president of the Drowning Prevention Coalition of Arizona, echoed the sentiment.

Schmidt said children and adults likely will continue swimming in backyard pools until October, so “we need to make sure that we’re paying attention to water safety,” supervising children around water, have barriers like pool fences, secure doggie doors and locked gates in place, and “that we’re being as safe as possible.”

The push is part of Drowning Impact Awareness Month this month, which promotes continued water safety during back-to-school and emphasizes the “ripple effect” a water-related incident can have on a community.

An incident affects not only the child’s family but also neighbors, first responders and doctors, plus schools and churches the child may attend, Schmidt said. Often an incident causes people to re-evaluate and improve their own water-safety practices.

“When a drowning happens, it affects everyone,” she said. “It’s not just that family who’s going to have to live with what happened for the rest of their lives. It’s making an impact for the good or the bad for all of these other people as well.”

There have been six water-related incidents in the Southwest Valley this year, according to coalition statistics. Of those, five were children. None was fatal.

In Litchfield Park, which does not report numbers to the coalition, a 66-year-old woman drowned in her backyard pool May 24. A 58-year-old Goodyear woman, who has not been identified, was pulled from her backyard pool May 8 and taken to the hospital in critical condition. Authorities could not say Wednesday whether she survived.

The biggest issues officials have encountered this year have been adults and teenagers swimming alone or while impaired, lapses in adult supervision and no barriers to keep children away from the water.

Schmidt said adults need to take responsibility for children and themselves.

“Put barriers in place so that when we do have those lapses of supervision that we have something that can slow that child down at the very least before they can get into the water and we find them there,” she said. “And (adults need) to be paying more attention. We’ve got to understand that we’re never old enough to swim by ourselves.”

The Wigwam Resort and Spa in Litchfield Park hosted a free swim day Aug. 4 for 25 Phoenix children from the Salvation Army to teach them about water safety.

The children, whose ages ranged from 7 to 14, toured a Goodyear firetruck and were provided a free lunch. Then Schmidt read them a book, “Stewie the Duck Learns to Swim,” to teach them water-safety rules, and then they were allowed to swim.

Later, people dressed as Santa and his elves surprised the children and handed out backpacks full of school supplies, each valued at about $55. The children were “extremely excited” at the surprise visit and gifts and enjoyed the day, said Casey Hagarty, a spokeswoman for the Wigwam.

This is the second year the resort has hosted a Santa swim day for Salvation Army children.

Water-safety officials said it is important children know how to swim and be safe around water.

The Buckeye Aquatic Center focused on promoting water safety this summer by boosting swim lessons and lifeguard certifications, and offering multiple free swim days.

About 20 lifeguards were certified, 168 children swam on the town’s swim teams, and 1,009 people participated in swim lessons, up from about 480 last summer, Recreation Supervisor Miranda Gomez said.

PHOENIX – A 5-year-old boy is dead after drowning in a north Phoenix pool early Saturday.

Scott Walker with the Phoenix Fire Department said fire crews responded to a home near 40th Street and Greenway Road around 4 a.m.

Walker said it was reported that a 5-year-old boy and his father were visiting the father’s brother.

The men had put the boy to sleep and then stayed up talking, Walker said.

They reportedly went to check on the boy around 4 a.m., but did not find him in bed and searched for him.

They found the boy in the backyard pool, pulled him from the water and called 911, Walker said.

Firefighters transported the boy to Paradise Valley Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Walker said there were no barriers around the pool.

“The homes are older out here and may have been built before those requirements were in place,” he said. “Regardless of whether it is a requirement we want you to have the barriers in place. It is your responsibility that something like this doesn’t happen.”

Tony Bohannon who lives next door said the home is owned by a firefighter who was out of town for several weeks with his family.

He said he is heartbroken. The loss hits him especially hard since he lost his 3-year-old niece to a drowning years ago.

“When you see that tiny casket and you know the guilt and suffering the family will go through,” he said. “You hear ‘watch your kids around water’ and it is not a cliche, it is real.”

Walker said that it is a tragic reminder that pool safety for kids is a multi-layered strategy. He stresses swim lessons, having pool fences, and adult supervision.

He also said that it is a sad wake-up call of the danger of pools for people visiting the Valley from areas where pools are less common.

QUEEN CREEK, AZ – An 8-month-old girl who was found floating face down in a bathtub at a Queen Creek home Wednesday has died, according to officials.

Pinal County Sheriff’s spokesman Elias Johnson said Chevelle Schettler was pronounced legally dead Thursday afternoon at Cardon Children’s Medical Center in Mesa.

Chevelle was put on life support after arriving at the hospital Wednesday afternoon. Johnson explained doctors said the young girl showed no signs of brain activity overnight.

Johnson said Patreesa Schettler told deputies she was giving her daughter a bath and turned around to get a towel, and when she turned back around found the infant face down in the water.

The mother grabbed Chevelle and ran to a neighbor’s house for help with CPR.

Chevelle was taken by ground ambulance to Banner Ironwood Medical Center and from there she was airlifted to Cardon Children’s Hospital.

Johnson said Schettler’s toddler-aged son was also home in a separate room. Their father was at work at the time.

The case is still under investigation by authorities, Johnson said.

A 3-year-old boy is in critical condition after he was found at the bottom of a Mesa pool Thursday evening, officials said on Friday.

The boy was found at about 5:30 p.m. in the 3000 block of South Del Rancho, according to the Mesa Fire Department. The boy was treated at the scene and then taken to Banner Desert Hospital.

When the boy arrived at the hospital, his heart was beating and he was breathing but he was not conscious.

There were apparently 12 adults at the home at the time of the incident, but fire officials said they did not know whether the boy’s parents were among them.

Check back with azcentral.com for updates.

As a parent, I often find myself guilty of the “do as I say, not as I do” trick. I confess to telling my kids how important it is to get a good night’s sleep, but I sometimes stay up late watching TV myself. I talk about how important it is to be prepared for a school day, but forget to plan for my own day at work. And, I tell them to try new things, but I sometimes stay with what’s comfortable.

Developing our new parent program, “Playing it Safe,” has been a challenge for me. Existing programs are easy, mostly. New ideas mean taking risks, planning for the unexpected, stretching my wings.

“What if it fails?” I ask myself. “What if no one will participate?”

We started more than a year ago with research, then developed and piloted the program, and now we’re offering it to the community. I told myself to be brave and take chances. And it’s gotten a great reception “ﾓ there are plenty of requests from the community, and after every single session I get positive feedback and a good feeling that I’m making a difference.

One of the most surprising things I’ve learned from talking to parents is just how many adults do not know how to swim.

This is not something people admit when they first speak to a stranger, and maybe that’s why I haven’t heard it spoken of, until now. When we talk about drowning prevention in small groups, we share our stories and solutions, and begin to get to know each other, and that’s when a parent feels comfortable enough to mention it. I’d estimate that one or two out of every 10 parents I speak with can’t swim.

A tragic case in Glendale recently illustrates how important it is for adults to talk about this subject. Last month, a 37-year-old mother jumped into her pool because she thought her 5-year-old son needed to be rescued. She could not swim, and by the time she was rescued, her injuries were so severe that she ultimately died.

We always include supervision when we talk about drowning prevention. But I’m urging parents to take a hard look at who can be their “Water Watcher.” Children need constant, capable supervision when they are near the water. “Capable” means old enough to supervise, sober, aware of who is in charge, able to give CPR and able to swim.

My grandmother did not know how to swim, and never learned. She missed out on the simple pleasure of kicking across the pool on a hot summer day, and was not as safe around the pool as she could have been.

It’s awfully hot out there right now, folks. Don’t stay up too late watching TV on these sweltering summer nights and prepare ahead of time for your work day. Also, try something new, and if you don’t know how to swim, I think you know exactly where to start.

• Tiffaney Isaacson is the water safety coordinator for Water Watchers at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Reach her at (602) 546-1712.