Ribbons promote drowning awareness

More than 60,000 of the ribbons have been distributed across the state in an effort to prevent further drownings. Already this year, five children have drowned to death in the Tucson area. The most recent deaths involved siblings Paulina, 3, and Sebastian Aldecoa, 2, who drowned in the pool of their grandparents' Foothills home July 22.

There have also been 14 near drownings this year in Pima County. In addition to swimming pools, mop buckets, bathtubs and even ice chests with water in them are risks for children, experts say. Local authorities say about 10 percent of near-drowning victims require hospitalization and suffer brain damage.

Nearly all of the drownings and near-drownings in Pima County have been among children ages 1 through 3.

There are three layers that parents and caregivers can use to prevent drownings — adult supervision, barriers and swim classes — Tucson Fire Department spokeswoman Trish Tracy told reporters Friday.

Tracy said birthday parties at pools and adults turning their heads for even a few seconds are both risk factors for child drownings. She stressed that children shouldn't be supervising children at pools, that toys should be removed from pool areas and that everyone should know CPR — cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

"What we could really use a hand with is the public knowing CPR," concurred firefighter/paramedic Sean Culliney of the Northwest Fire District.

Lori Schmidt of the Drowning Prevention Coalition of Arizona said that there has been an unusually high number of child drownings across the country this year, and that it's not a cultural or socioeconomic issue.

"Always treat your kids as if they have had no swim classes," she said.

On StarNet: Go to azstarnet.com/pdf for a PDF with instructions on making your pool area safer. An audio slide show on a swim class for young children is at azstarnet.com/multimedia