August 05, 2007

NS Toddler Drowns in Pool

Toddler drowns in pool
Little girl visiting grandparents near Windsor
By The Canadian Press
Wednesday July 25, 2007

GARLANDS CROSSING — Nova Scotia RCMP say a young girl is dead after she drowned in a pool at her grandparents home.

The terrible discovery was made Tuesday in Garlands Crossing outside Windsor.

Police say the two-and-a-half year old girl was staying with her grandparents while her parents are working in Cape Breton.

The girl went missing for a few minutes and was eventually found in a small wading pool on the property.

She was rushed to the Hants Community Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Police say they probably won't be releasing her name.

**********************************

Girl, 2, drowns in pool
By GORDON DELANEY Valley Bureau
Halifax Herald July 26, 2007


GARLANDS CROSSING — Some backyard fun turned tragic Tuesday when a two-year-old girl drowned in a swimming pool.

The toddler, whose name wasn’t released at the family’s request, was staying at her grandparents’ house on Bowman Road in Garlands Crossing, near Windsor, said Sgt. Tom Grant of the Windsor rural RCMP detachment.

"We received the call mid-afternoon about a child in one of those inflatable pools," said Sgt. Grant.

He said the child was visiting her grandparents and there were two or three other children at the house.

"All of a sudden, the others realized that the child wasn’t around," Sgt. Grant said, adding the victim had only been missing for a matter of minutes.

The child was found in the pool and an adult tried to resuscitate her. Paramedics also tried but couldn’t revive the girl, who was pronounced dead in Hants Community Hospital in Windsor.
"It’s just one of those tragic things," said Sgt. Grant. "It’s very sad."

He said the incident is a reminder that people must be vigilant with children around swimming pools, especially this time of year when temperatures in the Annapolis Valley the last few days have hovered near 30 C.

Const. George Cameron, also of the Windsor RCMP, said the pool was about three metres across and the water was a metre deep. He said there was a ladder on the side.

Neighbours said the victim lived in Sydney and was visiting her grandparents for a month, along with her four-month-old brother.

"I’ve seen them around," said a neighbour who didn’t want his name used. "They’ve visited before. I see them there all the time."

He said the children often stayed there with their grandmother and her partner, Mike Greeno, while their mother worked in Sydney.

The backyard pool has been at the house for the last couple of summers, the neighbour said.

He added that residents of Bowman Road are taking the death hard.

"People are in shock here. It’s just tragic."

Bowman is a short dead-end road with a dozen or so houses, a few minutes’ drive southeast of Windsor. At least three of the houses have inflatable pools.

The pool where the drowning happened is the largest on the street and sits near a driveway at the top of a hill.

People could be seen coming and going from the house throughout the day Wednesday.

"It’s horrible," said another man who lives on the road. "I have a young child myself."

RCMP say the investigation is complete and no further action will be taken.
( gdelaney@herald.ca)
*********************************************************

Keeping pool time safe for kids: Always be within arm’s reach, Lifesaving Society advises

Halifax Herald July 26,2007

by PAUL EVEREST

DROWNING is the second-leading cause of death of children under 10, according to the Nova Scotia branch of the Lifesaving Society. Nearly 500 Canadians drown each year, and children aged five and under are at high risk.

That’s why parents and caregivers are being asked to be extra vigilant now that pool weather is here and the kids are out of school.

National Drowning Prevention Day is this Saturday, and here are some tips from the [Lifesaving] Society and Health Canada to help keep little ones safe around the water:

Never lose sight of children in and around a swimming or wading pool, even for a short time. Designate an adult as a lifeguard to keep watch and have a backup in case the primary supervisor needs to step away for a minute or two.

"We have a saying with children’s supervision," said Paul D’Eon, special projects director with the society. "We say, ‘Within arm’s reach.’ So if a child falls down in the water and can’t right themselves, you’re within arm’s reach and you can right them."

•Make sure children under the age of three and little ones who can’t swim wear a [regulation] personal flotation device. Parents are also advised to take courses on pool safety and lifesaving skills such as CPR, and to keep lifesaving equipment and a first-aid kit near the pool.

•After checking out the municipal rules, build a fence and gate that will keep children away from your pool. It’s best to keep the gate locked at all times and make sure outdoor furniture or toys are away from the fence so children can’t climb over.

Mr. D’Eon also recommends putting a cover on a pool when it’s not in use. Children’s wading pools, including inflatable models, should be drained when swim time is over.

•Finally, keep emergency phone numbers listed close to a pool-area telephone.

The Lifesaving Society also urges parents and caregivers to supervise children in bathtubs and to drain the tub once the bath is finished.

( peverest@herald.ca)

****************************************
I am so so sad to report that within days of setting up this site a young child was drowned in Nova Scotia in a home pool. It was to prevent such accidents that I set this site up.

This site was set up in response to my reporting a large inflatable pool in my community that was not fenced in as per the Halifax Regional Bylaw.

On a Sunday, July 8th, I phoned the police department and was told this was NOT their business and that I would have to report this to the Bylaw department at 490-4000.

When I reported, I was given a case number #2670203 but was told that it would be one week before anyone would go out to the property to speak with the owner. I was shocked by this long response time, explaining a child could easily drown in that particular pool before the week was up.

As a result, I phoned the police back and it was suggested that I phone the department back the next day (Monday) and speak with a supervisor. On Wednesday, I did this and was directed to Jim Holt at 490-4478 (cell 476- 5043). When I spoke with Mr Holt, he was not aware of my complaint and I had to give him the case number.

On Saturday, I went past the property - nothing had been done ! And when I phoned Mr Holt on his cell on Sunday ( the promised 1 week had now gone by and his office voice mail informed me he would not be in the office until Tuesday) he refused to even speak with me because it was Sunday.

On Monday, 8 days after my original report, I sent an e-mail to Peter Kelly, the mayor of Halifax, with my concern. I cced this to a number of people including Gloria McClusky, councillor for the community that the pool was in.

On that same date, I received an e-mail from Gloria McClusky stating:


"Just received a copy of your email which went to Mayor Kelly. I called Jim Holt and was told that they have lowered the water in the pool to 2 feet, which is acceptable without a fence. Hope this answers your concerns."
Needless to say, this did NOT answer my concern and I am disappointed that Ms McClusky was not aware of the law, AND was content to leave 2 feet of water in a pool to drown a child!

The Halifax bylaw states that if the pool has the capacity to hold 2 feet of water or more, it requires fencing. This means that if the pool had to be drained down to 2 feet, it was within the bylaw and required fencing.

I immediately e-mailed Peter Kelly and Gloria McClusky with much of the information now posted on this site. I also asked if I could be directed to where I could find the bylaw on the web. (Noone ever did give me this information - I had to find this myself http://novascotiapoolsafety.blogspot.com/search/label/HRM%20BY-LAW%20NUMBER%20S-700%3A%20SWIMMING%20POOLS)

On Tuesday, 9 day after lodging my complaint, I received an e-mail from Ed Atkinson, Supervisor, Permits and Inspections Halifax Regional Municipality Community Development 869-4007 atkinse@halifax.ca :



"Further to your e-mail to Mayor Kelly yesterday, I would like to provide you with and up-date respecting the above captioned issue. As of 10:00 am this morning July 17 the swimming pool has been deflated and emptied of water. The occupants of the property have been advised of theSwimming Pool By-law requirements and we will monitor the situation toensure continued compliance. If you require any further information respecting this issue please feel free to contact me at the informationprovided below. Sincerely,Ed"

The sad state of affairs is that, though the pool has been deflated, the people at this residence now have a molded kiddie pool that is ALWAYS full of water, unattended, in a yard full of toys just inviting young children in to drown themselves. Within 2 days a kiddie slide directed into this pool was erected as well. This is a small pool that could be easily lifted and drained after each use and easily refilled for each subsequent use BUT these people chose to leave the pool full at all times, completely unattended, in a yard without fencing!

I have e-mailed everyone including Peter Kelly and Ms McCluskey of this BUT this is where our bylaw is lacking. It does not include kiddie pools or the small wading pool involved in the drowning today.

We MUST, for the sake of our children, contact our local politicians and insist that the regulations we have already be proactively enforced, and the bylaw be expanded to include wading and kiddie pools.

A young child needs only 1 inch of water to drown.

No comments: