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.

PHOENIX – A 5-year-old girl was airlifted to Phoenix Children’s Hospital Monday afternoon after she was found under water at her daycare.

Phoenix Fire Department crews were called out to Rancho Solano Private School near 56th Street and Greenway Road around 2:30 p.m.

Phoenix Fire Captain Scott Walker says the school is used as a daycare during the summer months and the children were participating in free swim when the little girl went under.

Several adults and a lifeguard were keeping watch over the 14 children swimming.

“I talked with the lifeguard, he’s been a lifeguard for about five years. It didn’t sound like he was distracted,” said Walker. “They are taught to scan the pool, he said he scanned one way and when he went back that’s when he saw the child.”

Walker said the lifeguard told him he believes the child may have been under water for about 15 to 30 seconds.

“Sometimes time does get away a little bit, it could’ve been a minute, we’re not really sure,” added Walker.

The little girl had no pulse and was not breathing when she arrived to the emergency room, but Walker said doctors were able to get her heart beating again.

“She’s in very critical condition and it doesn’t look good,” Walker said.

PHOENIX – A 7-year-old boy drowned Sunday evening during a 4th of July barbecue at a south Phoenix home.

A spokesperson with the Phoenix Fire Department said the boy was one of 20 children at the pool party near 35th Avenue and Baseline Road. Seventeen adults were also at the home at the time of the incident.

According to officials, an 11-year-old child found the boy after jumping into the pool and noticing someone at the bottom.

It is unclear how long the 7-year-old was under water.

Officials tell ABC15 the boy was transported to Phoenix Children’s Hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

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.