Full Notification

News Conference: Tuesday (tomorrow) - July 19th, 2011
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Location: Fletcher Hills Park & Pool, located 2345 Center Place, El Cajon

The El Cajon Fire, Police and Recreation Departments, along with Rady Children’s Hospital, are teaming up for an urgent summer reminder on water safety! In the past two weeks there have been two drownings in our City, both involving children 2 years of age and under. There have been a total of five drownings in the county this year.

Speakers include: Sue Cox, R.N., Rady Children’s Trauma Services Director, Jym Bridger, Firefighter-Paramedic for Heartland Fire & Rescue in El Cajon, and Barbara LaRussa, Head Guard/ Swim Instructor for the El Cajon Recreation Department.

Message: Safety experts say it takes less than 2 inches of water and a few seconds for a small child to drown. As your baby starts walking, lack of mobility and coordination puts them at risk of falling into water, including toilets, bathtubs, buckets of water, plastic wading pools, swimming pools, spas and ponds. By eliminating potential hazards you can help keep your baby safe in and around water, in and outside the home. Proper supervision is key in preventing many of the 9-1-1 drowning calls received by our paramedic-firefighters.

Safety tips: Make sure your pool has four-sided fencing and a self-closing, self-latching gate to prevent a child from wandering into the pool area unsupervised. In addition, hot tubs should be covered and locked when not in use. Install a door alarm, a window alarm or both to alert you if a child wanders into the pool area unsupervised. From the start, teach children to never go near or in water without an adult present, and learn CPR.

Media: Prior to the news conference Recreation Head Guard will be holding swim lessons. She can demonstrate water safety tips she provides to children and parents.