Drowning is a quiet event. There is no splashing, no screaming and no noise at all. Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional or accidental injury related death to children ages 1-4 years in Riverside County. A submerged child loses consciousness in less than one (1) minute (the time it takes to answer the phone) and sustains permanent brain damage in only 4 – 6 minutes.
Children under the age of five can have no fear of water and no concept of death. Water is associated with play. From 2005-2010, Riverside County had 72 children between the ages of 0 & 17 that died in a drowning incident. 63 of those children were under the age of 5.
95% of the incidents involving a child less than 5 years old had an adult present & responsible for the supervision of the child. Backyard pools and spas account for over 80% of all drowning or near drowning incidents in Riverside County. Remember adults drown too. Always use the buddy system and never swim alone.
WEBSITES FOR WATER & POOL SAFETY
www.rivcoips.org
Riverside County Injury Prevention Services
www.cityoftemecula.org
City of Temecula
www.rvcfire.org
Riverside County Fire Department
www.riversidecounty.redcross.org
American Red Cross in Riverside County
www.drowningpreventionalliance.com
National Drowning Alliance
www.safekids.org
Safe Kids Worldwide
www.cpsc.gov
Consumer Product Safety Commission
www.americanheart.org
American Heart Association
www.ccfc.ca.gov
First Five California
www.abcpoolsafety.org
ABC Pool Safety
Provided by Hans Bolowich BA, FC/ EMT-P, CAL FIRE, City of Temecula