Sheriff’s Office Offers Water Safety Tips

Hopkins residents got a stark reminder of just how dangerous water can be when June 1 at .

That tragedy was just the latest to happen on the water. There have been four drownings so far this year in Hennepin County, along with other near-drownings. Last summer, there were 16 drownings in the county, five of them children. A double drowning of a male adult and a child happened Aug. 15, 2011, at the Lancaster Village Apartment complex in Plymouth.

Nearly a year later, the Plymouth Fire Department will have a Plymouth Apartment Manager meeting 11 a.m. Thursday, July 12 at the Lancaster complex. Foss Swim School will demonstrate what drowning looks like and the proper use of water rescue tools.

The demonstration can be used as a free presentation for any community this summer. Those who attend can also see changes made by Lancaster Village for its pools and the Fire Department will provide durable, plastic placards outlining swimming safety.

In order to help prevent further tragedies, Patch talked with Kiava about ways to keep children safe around the water.

“We want people to use these safety measures because we want summer to be fun,” she said.

Here are the tips she had to share.

(The tips are not targeted at any specific incident that’s happened.)

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Maintain constant vigilance: Drowning is a silent killer. While many people expect they’ll hear screaming or splashing, children can slip beneath the water without anyone noticing. Seventy percent of toddler drownings happen when one or both parents are nearby, Kiava said.

• Maintain constant eye contact: Avoid distractions such as texting, using a cell phone, socializing with other adults or closing eyes to sunbathe.
• Don’t rely on lifeguards to watch your children: Lifeguards are not babysitters.
• Stay within an arm’s length of toddlers.
• Set up an “active supervision schedule” during social events: When adults get together, there’s often the assumption that someone will spot any trouble since there are so many adults present. But without someone responsible, trouble can happen unnoticed. Kiava suggested setting up a rotating schedule of people responsible for watching children in the water.
• Don’t get complacent in pools and hot tubs: While many people take precautions in lakes and other natural bodies of water, swimming pools and hot tubs are just as dangerous. Of the four Hennepin County drownings so far, one happened in a pool and the other happened in a hot tub. “People have a false sense of security when it’s a pool or hot tub,” Kiava said.

Take appropriate protective actions: Parents can stack the deck in their favor by taking these precautions.

• Consider using life jackets: Flotation devices aren’t just for the lake. Kiava encouraged young and weak swimmers to use life jackets. She noted that places such as Lifetime Fitness and Disney resorts already provide them for their pools.
• Only rely on Coast Guard approved flotation devices: Swimming accessories like floaties aren’t sufficient.
• Make sure life jackets fit: Children can slip out of loose-fitting life jackets.
• Don’t swim alone.
• Keep a cell phone nearby.

Respond appropriately in an emergency: When emergencies do happen, the response can make all the difference.

• Check the water first when a child goes missing: With a water emergency, it doesn’t take much time before it’s too late. If parents can’t find their child and they know there’s a pool nearby, that’s where they should head first.
• Don’t trust a quick visual check of the water: Children can be hidden from sight even in the deep end of a pool. Check the bottom with a shepherd’s hook or have a strong swimmer go down to inspect in person.
• Learn first aid.

The Sheriff’s Office has also created a phrase, like the famous “stop, drop and roll,” to make it easier to keep safety in mind. That phrase is “watch, wear and learn”:

• Watch your kids
• Wear a life jacket
• Learn to swim and learn CPR

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