[symple_googlemap title=”” location=”2200 block of West Judith Lane, Anaheim, CA” height=”300″ zoom=”13″]
A 3-year-old boy drowned in a backyard pool in Anaheim this week, the 41st person to die from water this year in Orange County.
It was the 85th drowning call this year, according to Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi. The death toll of 41 is four more than last year, he said.
The victim and his parents lived in Santa Ana were visiting in the 2200 block of West Judith Lane when the boy drowned about 4:40 p.m. Tuesday, Anaheim police Lt. Bob Dunn said. At some point the parents realized the boy was missing and when they went looking for him they found him in the backyard pool, Dunn said.
The boy was taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Out of the 41 fatalities, 19 involved victims 50 years or older, Concialdi said.
“It’s all because they were alone in a pool, spa, ocean or bathtub,” Concialdi said. “When you go swimming, you’ve got to have a buddy.”
The county has had 131 drowning deaths over the past three years, Concialdi said. Last year, there were 73 drowning incidents with 37 resulting in deaths, the captain added.
The record for most drownings in Orange County was in 2012 with 93 calls and 53 leading to death, Concialdi said.
“Every one of them is preventable,” Concialdi said.
For kids, it’s important to keep a close eye on them around water, Concialdi said.
“A child can drown within seconds without a sound,” Concialdi said. “It is not loud, nobody’s screaming. They’re under water, panicking, and nobody hears them.”
Firefighters stress the ABCs of water safety, he said. A is for “adult supervision,” B is for “barriers” such as gates around pools, and C represents “classes” on CPR, Concialdi said.
More parents are learning CPR and saving their children, but many of them sustain irreversible brain damage, Concialdi said.
Drowning is a year-round issue in Orange County, Concialdi said.
Orange County has great weather and an abundance of pools and beautiful beaches, which makes the threat of drowning year-round, Concialdi said.
– City News Service