Near Drowning at Baierl Family YMCA Prompts Changes in Swim Program

Children who swim at YMCA summer camps now must wear wristbands color-coded to their skill level, reports the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. 

The new policy was implemented after a 6-year-old almost drowned last month on a field trip from Carson Middle School to the Baierl Family YMCA. 

The YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh also implemented rules that seek to reduce the size of groups of children at play in the water, the Trib reported.

According to a state department of Public Weflare report, on June 13, a 6-year-old boy from the YMCA summer camp at Carson Middle School in McCandless was rescued from the outdoor pool at Baierl Family YMCA in Franklin Park. 

In addition, the Welfare Department found that a camp employee was unable to locate another child for about two minutes on June 20 at the pool. It ordered the middle school's camp to be closed.

The YMCA leases the space in the school from North Allegheny School District, Todd Brinkman, district vice president of camping services, told the Tribune-Review.  That camp location will not reopen this summer, he said.

The YMCA fired several counselors at the middle school camp, the Trib reported.

The new swimming policy breaks children into smaller groups — five children to each counselor, as opposed to 15 children with three counselors, Brinkman told the Trib.

Children will wear wristbands that denote their swimming skills: red for non-swimmers, yellow for middle-level swimmers and green for advanced swimmers.

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