Drowning epidemic of 1989 led to many modern safety measures

PHOENIX — This year, 12 people have died in water incidents in Maricopa and Pinal counties. Four of those 12 deaths involved children aged 5 or under.

Several of these have occurred within the last weeks as temperatures rose across the Valley.

With the hottest months ahead, local officials are sounding the alarm.

The “drowning epidemic” of 1989

Jay Arthur, president of the Drowning Prevention Coalition of Arizona and a former Phoenix Fire Captain, said drowning is an issue that has gripped the Valley for decades.

The issue was especially pronounced during the summer of 1989.

“It was basically considered an epidemic,” Arthur said.

There were there were 243 calls for drownings in Maricopa County from January 1988 through December 1989, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Fire departments in the Valley began to prioritize water incidents in 1989. This move has since became commonplace throughout the nation, Arthur said.

“They created a thing called the SWIM Team, and it stood for Stop Water Infant Mortality,” he added.

The SWIM Team was a taskforce that brought local fire captains together to tackle the issue of child drownings. That’s where common water safety phrases like “Just a few seconds” came from. It was a common thing first responders heard from parents when describing what led up to water incidents.

“We actually reduced drowning incidents from 103 to 48 in a year,” Arthur said.

That eventually became what is now known as the Drowning Prevention Coalition of Arizona. Its goal is to promote water safety messaging.

Tips to fight the drowning epidemic

To this day, the coalition and local fire departments emphasize water safety prevention, notably the “ABCs” to prevent pool drownings:

1. Adult Supervision: A sober adult should be with children in the water with the sole focus of watching the swimmers.
2. Barrier: Pool fences and covers can prevent children from getting into the pool when unattended.
3. Classes: Young children should be taken to swimming classes. Teens and adults should know CPR. Swimmers who have not taken classes should wear a life jacket.

Arthur believes the “B” of the “ABCs” is something all parents need to do to protect their children.

However, he also acknowledges that fences and other barriers can be expensive and may not always be an option.

“Locks, latches and alarms on your doors are really helpful and inexpensive,” he said.

In other words, lock down any access to the backyard so children cannot get into the pool by themselves. Keep those locks high so children can’t reach them.

“It’s not about being a great parent or not,” Arthur added. “When we have multiple kids, trying to feed the family, cook and clean, we divert our attention, and we can’t keep track of everyone every second of the day.”

If an incident does happen, Arthur says it’s important to act quickly. Drownings can happen in seconds and may be totally silent.

“Get them out of the pool,” he said.

Remove the person from the pool and immediately begin CPR. If this is not done, then the chances of survival are grim, he added.

“We don’t ever want to see a child in a pool when we get there,” Arthur said.

Most of the time first responders arrive and the child is already out of the pool.

“You’ve got an emotionally charged scene,” he said. “A lot of times parents not doing CPR; they’re screaming … begging for us to being their child back to life.”

Doing CPR is critical because it increases the chances of survival — and the chances of a successful recovery. If you are performing CPR on a drowning victim, focus on helping them breathe. Don’t focus on compressions, Arthur said.

“If they wake up to a conscious level, are they going to wake up to a viable brain? To where they can function normally for the rest of their life? It’s all about you giving that breath,” Arthur said.

You can find a list of CPR classes offered throughout the Valley here.