Last year, Orange County Firefighters responded to 56 drowning or possible drowning calls. Drowning is second only to car crashes as the top accidental killer of children. Most times childhood drowning is preventable. Orange County Fire Rescue would like to offer these simple reminders in the hope of reducing the chance of you or a family member becoming a drowning victim.
Install a four-sided, isolation pool-fence with self-closing and self-latching gates around the pool. The fence should be at least 4 feet tall and completely separate the pool from the house and play area of the yard.
Prevent children from having direct access to a swimming pool.
Install a telephone near the pool. Know how to contact local emergency medical services. Post the emergency number, 911, in an easy-to-see place.
Any time there are kids near water there should be an adult designated as the Water Watcher. This adult will:
Watch the water at all times
Not allow themselves to be distracted, even for a minute
Not consume alcohol or drugs
Not leave the area until relieved by another Water Watcher
Keep a telephone at hand to call for help if needed
Children have drowned in areas surrounded by adults because everyone thought someone else was watching. If there is no water watcher present, the pool or water area should be closed off to children.
Whenever young children are swimming, playing, or bathing in water, make sure an adult is constantly watching them. By definition this means that the supervising adult should not read, play cards, talk on the phone, mow the lawn, or do any other distracting activity while watching children.
Never swim alone or in unsupervised places. Teach children to always swim with a buddy.
If a child is missing, check the pool or body of water first!
Keep small children away from buckets containing liquid: 5-gallon industrial containers are a particular danger. Be sure to empty buckets when household chores are done.
Never drink alcohol during or just before swimming, boating, or water skiing. Never drink alcohol while supervising children. Teach teenagers about the danger of drinking alcohol and swimming, boating, or water skiing.
To prevent choking, never chew gum or eat while swimming, diving, or playing in water.
Learn to swim. Enroll yourself and/or your children in swimming classes. Learn CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation). This is particularly important for pool owners and individuals who regularly participate in water recreation.
Do NOT use air-filled swimming aids (such as "water wings") in place of life jackets or life preservers with children. These can give parents and children a false sense of security and increase the risk of drowning.
Check the water depth before entering. The American Red Cross recommends 9 feet as a minimum depth for diving or jumping.
Know the local weather conditions and forecast before swimming or boating. Thunderstorms and strong winds can be extremely dangerous to swimmers and boaters.
Use U.S. Coast Guard-approved personal flotation devices (life jackets) when boating, regardless of distance to be traveled, size of boat, or swimming ability of boaters .
Watch for dangerous waves and signs of rip currents -- water that is discolored, unusually choppy, foamy, or filled with debris.
If you are caught in a rip current, swim parallel to the shore. Once you are out of the current, swim toward the shore.
Citizens' Safety 
