The Gwinnett County Department of Fire and Emergency Services and Safe Kids Gwinnett are urging residents of all ages to stay safe while visiting swimming pools during the summer. Both agencies have teamed up to promote year-round swimming pool safety. Memorial Day weekend marks the opening of many neighborhood, community, and backyard swimming pools.

According to Safe Kids Georgia, drownings can happen any time of the year, but parents and caregivers should be particularly vigilant during warmer months when the numbers of drowning incidents increase. Many facilities such as backyard, apartment complex, and subdivision pools have no lifeguard on duty and require extra diligence from parents and caregivers to ensure safety. In 2014, Gwinnett firefighters responded to 17 drowning or near-drowning incidents.

In order to stay safe and enjoy the summer, safety officials suggest following some simple pool safety rules:

• Supervise: Never take your eyes off of children who are in and around the water.  
• Use barriers: Fences with self-closing or self-latching gates and secured doors with alarms can prevent young children from wandering into the pool.
• Avoid entrapment: Suction from a pool drain is so powerful it can trap an adult underwater. Be sure to check for and replace missing or broken drain covers.
• Learn to swim: To stay safe in the water, all family members should learn how to swim.  Wear an approved floatation device if you can’t swim.  
• Know how to respond: Learn CPR and basic water rescue skills.    

For additional information on water safety, please visit www.safekids.org. To schedule a water safety program, please contact the Gwinnett Fire Community Risk Reduction Division at 678.518.4845 or email fireprograms@gwinnettcounty.com.