Fire officials renew call: watch your kids around water
Faced with a likely surge in drowning calls in the coming weeks, Valley fire departments held a joint news conference to remind parents and other adult caregivers to never take your eyes off kids when they're around water.
The statistics are grim: over the last ten years, there have been 1,586 water-related incidents that firefighters have responded to around the Valley. Of those, 525 were fatal, and 171 of those involved the death of a child. The most recent drowning fatality was this past weekend.
Phoenix fire captain Frank Salomon said for some unknown reason, the number of drowning incidents seems to spike around back-to-school time and Labor Day.
The United Phoenix Firefighters have a way for people who can't afford a pool fence to get one for free. For information, visit www.SaveRKids.org .
PHOTOS: Fire officials from around the valley gather at a north Phoenix cemetery's children section for Thursday's news conference.
Justin and Alisa Hart, who lost their 2½ year old son to a backyard pool drowning in 2010, also talked to reporters.
