Recent Rash Of Drownings In Orange County Has Officials Concerned
GARDEN GROVE (CBSLA.com) — The drowning of a 15-year-old male in Garden Grove Saturday was the latest in a series of tragedies involving water accidents in Orange County.
The teen drowned during a pool party on Desmond Street near Magnolia. He was found at the bottom of the pool around 8:30 p.m.
There were two additional drownings and two near drownings in Orange County in just the past two days.
Five calls in one weekend is the most officials say they have responded to in a three-day period, ever.
All of the incidents occurred in pools or spas.
A 53-year-old man drowned Friday in an Irvine condo complex and a 57-year-old woman drowned Friday while swimming at a hotel in Costa Mesa.
A 2-year-old boy nearly drowned at a pool in Santa Ana on Friday. He remains in serious condition.
A 3-year-old girl nearly drowned in an Irvine spa Saturday -- her father was feet away barbecuing. The girl remains in critical condition.
The Orange County Fire Authority responded to 68 water emergencies this year with 30 being deadly. The totals for all of 2013 were 73 calls with 37 fatalities.
KCAL9's Erica Nochlin said all of the victims had one thing left in common -- they were all left alone or unattended, even momentarily.
"Children can drown without a sound within seconds. It doesn't take much," says Orange County Fire Authority Captain Steve Concialdi. "There is no yelling, no splashing. If they go under and they panic, and they breathe in that water and they start trying to yell under water, nobody hears them."
Concialdi is hoping by getting the word out, Orange County will not surpass 2013's already grim number of fatalities in water-related accidents.
"Five in one weekend," he said, "that is far too many. One is too many."
His advice to parents is to always keep young children within an arm's length away when near water. And he reminds that even experienced swimmers can find themselves in an unexpected emergency.
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