Fayette County coroner emphasizes pool safety after recent children’s drowning deaths
Recent drowning deaths of small children investigated by the Fayette County Coroner’s Office have prompted officials to ask people to keep pool safety in mind this summer.
Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn said his office recently reviewed the deaths of a 7-year-old and a 2-year-old who had both drowned. The drownings happened outside Fayette County, but both children were taken to Lexington hospitals.
“Every child’s death is just very sad and it’s a horrible death, especially those that can be prevented,” Ginn said. “It’s hard on mom and dad and grandmas and grandpas and the whole family.”
Ginn wanted families to make sure they’re staying aware of their children’s safety around pools during the hot summer months.
“July has been extremely hot, but August is typically hotter than July and where do kids go when it’s hot? They go to the backyard sprinkler or the backyard kiddie pool or above ground pool or underground or to the parks and all that kind of stuff,” Ginn said.
The Fayette County Coroner’s Child Fatality Review Committee recently reviewed the two deaths. Afterward, Ginn wanted to share pool safety tips in an effort to prevent potential future drownings. Ginn said he did extensive research on how to be safer around pools.
Ginn’s biggest warning was to make sure children aren’t left unattended around pools. Ginn said the 2-year-old who drowned went into another room of a house and walked out a door that had access to the pool.
“That door is typically not used by the family to go out to the pool, but that’s what happened,” Ginn said. “The child was in the house, went out through that door, so that wasn’t heard, and then when mom came right back, she noticed he was gone and then that’s what happened.”
Other tips Ginn shared are making sure barriers are in place around pools, keeping rescue equipment nearby and emptying kiddie pools after use.
