Children's Safety Zone

Southwest Ambulance employees, Glendale council members,lifeguards, firefighters and city staff hit the pavement lastFriday to spread the word on water safety and free swimlessons.

Walking door-to-door, the group visited homes near Rose LaneAquatics Center in Glendale to distribute drowning prevention tipsand to provide information on free and reduced swim lessonsavailable at Glendale pools through funding provided by theSouthwest Ambulance Pool Pack Swim Lesson Program.

This year, Southwest Ambulance donated $5,000 to Glendale.

Developed in 2002, Pool Pack works in partnership with communitiesto provide families with free or reduced-cost swim lessons andcomplements the prevention programs offered through municipal firedepartments.

Individual requests for assistance and swim lesson registrationsare handled directly by community parks and recreation departments.Each program is independently managed, offering varying levels ofsponsorships for swim lessons.

Since the program’s inception, Southwest Ambulance has donated morethan $250,000 to local aquatics programs and Parks and Recreationdepartments, providing free or reduced cost swim lessons to Valleyfamilies. This year, eight communities in Maricopa and Pinalcounties received funding from Southwest Ambulance’s Pool PackProgram.

MESA, AZ (KPHO) – A 22-year-old Tempe woman drowned Sunday morning, according to Mesa Police. Police said alcohol is being investigated as a factor.

According to police, there was a party at the home overnight on S. San Jose Drive in Mesa where the woman was found dead by neighbors.

Police said the woman does not live at the home and was last seen alive at 6 a.m.

SUN CITY, AZ – Authorities say an elderly man has died after driving a car into a swimming pool Monday evening in Sun City.

According to Tony Mure with the Phoenix Fire Department, it happened around 5:30 p.m. at a home near 99th Avenue and Union Hills Drive.

The unidentified man was reportedly extricated from the car. Detective Aaron Douglas with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said the man later died.

There was some damage to the home, but it’s unclear how the incident happened.

Check back for updates.

A Phoenix general contractor who saved a 2-year-old boy after the child nearly drowned in June was awarded the Phoenix Police Medal of Lifesaving on Thursday.

Phillip Murphy, 53, has more than 35 years of experience with CPR and extensive training from his time with the Air Force and the Boy Scouts of America.

“You never expect the day is going to come when you’re going to use it,” Murphy said.

That day came on June 2.

Jason Fuller, 2, was in the backyard of his grandparents’ home and managed to bypass the pool’s alarm system. He was supposed to start swimming lessons the following day.

Minutes later, his grandmother found Jason at the bottom of the pool. The grandmother jumped in to pull Jason out. She tried CPR, but it didn’t work so she carried Jason across the street to Murphy’s home, desperate for help.

Murphy took action, starting CPR. His son called 911. Murphy continued with the CPR until paramedics arrived.

“It felt to me like it was 30 minutes,” Murphy said. “But it was probably more like two.”

Jason was rushed to a hospital in critical condition.

Jason’s mother, Rachael Fuller, was out of town. She received the phone call about her son.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine it would be Jason,” she said. “I was scared. I always said it wouldn’t happen to me.”

She arrived at the hospital 11 hours later. Doctors told Fuller they would know Jason’s condition when he woke up.

“I prayed a lot that he wouldn’t wake up until I got there,” she said. “As I walked in the door he woke up . . . It was a miracle.”

Jason made a full recover, in large part because of Murphy’s efforts. Fuller is thankful Murphy was there.

“I can’t even look at him without crying sometimes,” she said about Murphy.

Rachael and Jason Fuller were there to see Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris award Murphy the Medal of Lifesaving at his home on Thursday. Representatives of Boy Scouts of America also presented Murphy a leather-bound field book for his efforts.

Since the near-drowning, Jason has taken extensive private swimming lessons throughout the summer. His grandparents also installed a self-locking gate in their backyard.

Murphy said a gate is not always enough.

“We don’t give kids enough credit,” he said. “You’ve got to have your eyes on them and your hands on them.”

Rachael Fuller agreed and said, “If there’s a will, there’s a way, and they will find a way to get to what they want.”

“It’s more gratifying that one could ever imagine,” Murphy said. “(Jason’s) a good buddy of mine. We’re very proud to see him every day.”

The recent flurry of child drownings has left many of us shaken. Since the first of the year, seven children and one teen have already died in water-related incidents in Maricopa County.

“How can this happen so often?” my friends ask me, “why aren’t people getting the message? We need to do something!”

Maricopa County is a high-risk place for drownings, and even higher in a community like Ahwatukee Foothills. We see many sunny days, with weather that welcomes us to the backyard. The chance that you will find a pool in that yard is greater here than in most other states. Also, our demographics contribute – many young parents, with young children. All this adds up to Arizona’s title as second in the nation for child drownings.

Are people “getting the message” about water safety? I think they are, but we need to keep talking about it. If you look at the per-capita rate for child drownings, we see that our child drowning rate in recent years is at some of the lowest levels on record. Every drowning is preventable, so we need to keep working hard.

Here’s what you need to do, today:

When the pool gate is open:

• Have a constant, capable supervisor. Really think about who should have this job before you give them the whistle, hat or “Water Watcher” tag. They should be sober, able to swim, old enough to supervise, able to perform CPR, and you should have more than one if there are many children in the pool.

• Your Water Watcher should know what a drowning looks like. If a child is under water for too long, don’t assume he or she is playing, and don’t be embarrassed to make a rescue.
• Ask your Water Watcher to stay within “touch distance” of children, to make a rescue right away, and should sit where he or she can see the whole pool.

When swim time is over:

• Close the pool gate, and make sure it keeps children out, by checking to see if they can go over, under or through it.

Finally, the whole family needs to talk about a water safety plan. The children should learn to swim at the appropriate age, and the adults need to keep their CPR skills up to date.

Families can have help putting all the pieces together with a quick, custom 20-minute chat. It’s our “Playing it Safe” program, and you can schedule a presentation near you today.

For more information about the program, water safety or to request a Water Watcher tag, call (602) 546-1712 or email tisaacson@phoenixchildrens.com.

Tiffaney Isaacson is the water safety coordinator for Water Watchers at Phoenix Children’s Hospital and vice president of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance. Reach her at (602) 546-1712