The drowning deaths of a 51-year-old Surrey woman and her 20-month-old grandson in a pool earlier this month prompted a Richmond lifeguard/swim instructor to call the News.
"Recently, the news of yet another tragic double drowning in the Lower Mainland shook me to the core," said Lisa Ochoa, who is also a Red Cross First Aid/CPR instructor.
"Maybe it hits me harder because I'm a parent-or maybe it's because I'm a lifeguard and swim instructor, and I know how easy it is to have common sense and be water smart.
"Either way, the senseless loss of lives is staggering.
Especially when the statistics show that the majority of drownings in residential pools are preventable, understandable and predictable-in other words-a lack of common sense and judgment."
Ochoa hopes that by talking about safety tips on the water that people will be more cautious this summer. When she puts on seminars for groups of parents, her first rule of thumb is to "never, ever lose sight of your child when you are near water."
"Kids die in small amounts of water in bathtubs, small wadding pools and even buckets filled with water," Ochoa said.
"Right from toddler age, your kids should be taking swimming lessons," said the mother of two adult children.
Ochoa, 48, also wants to debunk some fallacies people have about drowning.
"Often, people think that someone who is drowning is going to scream out, but all too often they can't," she said.
On a crowded Saturday afternoon two years ago, while Ochoa was training aspiring lifeguards, there was a five-year-old girl obviously in distress in the deep end at Watermania.
The child was struggling to paddle away from the mechanical waves the pool is known for and couldn't.
Luckily, a lifeguard got to the scared little girl and pulled her out of the pool.
"The parent was on the other side of the pool," she said, shaking her head.
"Had the parent been more vigilant, the incident wouldn't have happened."
Ochoa knows of many parents who push their kids to take swimming classes, and yet they can't swim themselves.
"Parents need to learn the basics, not only how to be safe in, on and around water, but CPR and first aid as well," she added.
Ochoa grew up around water - she was what you'd call a water rat.
The former competitive swimmer grew up on lakes, rivers and oceans either canoeing, swimming or rafting.
"My father loved the outdoors and he encouraged all of us to take swimming classes," said Ochoa, who has been working for the City of Richmond as a lifeguard for more than six years now.
Today, she's parlayed her love of the water into teaching parents and children how to be safe around water.
For more information about the Lifesaving Society, call 6042995450 or visit www.lifesaving.bc.ca.
To reach Ochoa, email her at nauticuslifesavingandfirstaid@gmail. com or call 778-862-2231.
mhopkins@richmond-news.com
DROWNING STATISTICS:
This week is National Drowning Prevention Week and the Lifesaving Society, of which Ochoa is a member, provides some statistics about drowning and some tips to avoid a senseless tragedy.
Sobering statistics: (Courtesy of Lifesaving Society BC & Yukon Branch)
- More than 500 people drown every year in Canada in water-related incidents. From 2006, Canadian drowning statistics, of the 508 drownings, 84 of them were in B.C. (17 per cent) - second highest after Ontario;
- Drowning is the second leading cause of preventable deaths for children under the age of 10;
- Someone can drown in 10 seconds;
- Six per cent of drowning occurs in private residential pools;
- For every preschooler who dies from drowning, there is another six to 10 additional hospitalizations for near drowning;
- Twenty per cent of toddlers hospitalized for near drowning sustain permanent brain damage;
- Sixty-one per cent of all drowning occur in lakes, streams, ponds, rivers and waterfalls;
LIFE-SAVING TIPS:
- Stay within arms reach, in direct supervision of your children at all times - it only takes a second for tragedy to strike;
- Control access to water - enclose backyard pools on all four sides with a fence and a self-latching/self-closing gate;
- Drain bathtubs when not in use and empty unattended wading pools and buckets;
- Learn to swim - all children and adults should enroll in swimming lessons and/or a swimming survival program;
- Everyone should wear a lifejacket when boating.
