Children's Safety Zone

PHOENIX — In the wake of yet another drowning, the Phoenix Fire Department is reminding parents of the need to watch children around water at all times.

Capt. Jonathan Jacobs of the Phoenix Fire Department showed Tess Rafols some simple things you can do to keep the little ones from tumbling into that backyard swimming pool.

Most drownings and near drownings happen in swimming pools, but there are other hazards. Bath tubs, wading pools, hot tubs, toilets and even buckets can also be dangerous, especially to toddler and infants. A child can drown in as little as 1 inch of water.

While there are many different kinds of drowning dangers for kids, many of which don’t seem obvious right away, swimming pools remain by far the biggest issue.

Twenty Maricopa County children drowned last year. All but two of those incidents happened in a swimming pool.

Everybody should know the ABCs of water safety.

A – Adult supervision
When it comes to keeping kids safe around water, the most important thing is adult supervision. Adults should have eye-to-eye contact with kids at all times.

B – Barriers
While there is no substitute for adult supervision, fences and locking gates can go a long way in keeping kids out of the swimming pool.

C – Classes
Not only should children take swimming lessons (although lessons in no way replace supervision), adults should be trained in CPR in case the unthinkable should happen.

There have already been 19 drowning incidents in Maricopa County this year. Fourteen of those were fatal.

GLENDALE, AZ – A 2-year-old girl is fighting to survive after she was found floating in a pool outside her West Valley home Tuesday night.

Video from Air15 showed the girl being airlifted to St. Joseph’s Hospital just after 8 p.m.

Glendale Fire Department spokesman Daniel Valenzuela said emergency crews responded to the home near 75th and Missouri avenues after the girl was found unconscious in the pool.

A person walking by the home reportedly stopped to help and administered CPR until crews arrived.

The young girl is currently in extremely critical condition.

Officials told ABC15 crews at the scene there were two adults and four other children in the home when they lost track of the 2-year-old.

It is unclear at this time how long the girl was under the water.

According to officials, there is a fence around the family’s pool, but areas of the fencing were down.

Firefighters were reportedly in the Glendale neighborhood on Saturday doing a “water walk” to educate residents about water safety and to help them qualify for a federal grant for putting up pool fencing.

A Lake Havasu City toddler was airlifted to a Las Vegas hospital Saturday after he reportedly fell into a backyard pool and wasn’t breathing when found.

Emergency responders were called about 1:32 p.m. Saturday to render aid to Aiden Cooper, 3, at a residence in the 3500 block of Fiesta Drive, said Lake Havasu City Sgt. Joe Harrold.

Emergency responders en route to the residence were advised cardiopulmonary resuscitation was in progress on the child, said Rick Felish, Battalion Chief, Lake Havasu City Fire Department.

A nearby Lake Havasu City police officer also was dispatched to the scene to assist the fire department’s response to the call.

“The father of the 3-year-old was performing CPR when the officer arrived,” Harrold said. “And the child began breathing on his own just as the officer got to him.”

Harrold said it’s standard protocol for a Havasu police officer to respond to incidents involving individuals who aren’t breathing.

The child was transported to Havasu Regional Medical Center by River Medical ambulance service. The boy was soon transferred by Careflight medical helicopter to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas, Felish said.

Lake Havasu City Fire Department responded with eight firefighters aboard Engine 4 and Engine 2. The Battalion Chief on-duty also responded, Felish said.

The child’s condition was unknown Sunday, police said.

You may contact the reporter at jhanson@havasunews.com.

ORO VALLEY – The Oro Valley community is mourning the death of a young child after the first drowning of the year.

A 3-year old boy was found in a neighbor’s swimming pool in the 11000 block of Old Ram Court. He was reported missing, Wednesday afternoon. During the search, an Oro Valley police officer found him at the bottom of the neighbor’s pool. The officer attempted CPR, but it was too late.

We spoke with one of the victim’s family members, but with tears in her eyes, she said she had nothing to say and rushed back inside her home.

The family isn’t the only ones affected by this; the entire neighborhood is still shaken by the tragic news.

Wayne Boyd lives in the neighborhood. He said, “Kids playing around here all the time. You see them all the time so it’s shocking. It really is.”

And the neighbors aren’t alone in that feeling. Even first responders were caught off guard.

Anne-Marie Braswell with Safe Kids Tucson Coalition and Rural Metro Fire said, “It’s just not anything that we were ready to even think about because the weather is still cool.”

Cool or not, it happened. Now it’s turned into a tragic reminder of the importance of pool safety and watching over your kids.

Braswell said, “It’s one of those things in Southern Arizona we need to think about year round. When January comes around we need to make our new years resolution to keep our children safe, be a designated water watcher and remember the A,B,C’s of water safety and to talk to all of our children.”

Something this neighborhood hopes to do better in the future, all while mourning the loss of one of its youngest residents.

Boyd said, “To hear that something like that happen here, it kind of hits home. It’s personal. To me it is anyway.”

The incident is still under investigation and police said they’re not ready to release the name or information about how the boy got into the neighbor’s back yard. They’re also not commenting on the possibility of criminal negligence charges being filed but we’ll keep you posted.

MARICOPA, Ariz. – A 9-year-old boy is being called a hero after he saved a younger child from drowning in a community pool Monday night.

A 5-year-old boy was playing in a swimming pool, but his mom was distracted. Fortunately, someone else was watching, and when he saw the boy go under, 9-year-old Alessandre Presume sprang into action.

Alessandre jumped in and pulled the child out.

“I went down to check and I turned him over, his face was gray and his lips were blue, so I brought him up cause I knew something was wrong,” he says.

“I started screaming for help and another mother closer to us started the CPR on the little boy,” says Alessandre’s mom Antonia.

Bystanders reported the boy briefly lost consciousness while his mother took over CPR.

By the time the paramedics got to them, the boy was conscious and alert, and it’s all thanks to the quick acting 9-year-old and his mom Antonia.

“When he woke up I was relieved cause I knew he was gonna be ok,” says Alessandre.

“Just so grateful it turned out the way it did cause it could’ve easily gone the other way,” says Antonia.

The child was transported to an area hospital for further evaluation.

Alessandre now says he wants to be a lifeguard one day.