Focus on pool safety as 3 people, including 7-year-old boy, die in separate drownings on Long Island

Suffolk County officials and first responders are stressing pool safety after three people drowned on Long Island on Thursday and overnight into Friday, including a 7-year-old boy.

They were the latest fatalities in what advocates say are elevated and, in some cases, record-breaking numbers of drownings nationwide and in New York the last few years. Experts say there are many steps people can take to try to minimize the danger.

In East Meadow on Thursday, police responded at about 3:55 p.m. to a 911 call at a residence on Second Avenue. When they arrived, the 7-year-old had been pulled out of the pool and was not breathing because of an apparent drowning, Nassau police said. 

People present were trying to administer CPR. The boy was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

About an hour later, at 4:50 p.m., Suffolk police raced to a home on Ketay Drive South in East Northport after a 911 call. They pulled an unresponsive man from a residential pool and performed CPR.

The man, John Vormbaum, 79, was taken to Huntington Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Hours later, at 2:12 a.m. Friday, Suffolk police responded to a 911 call regarding a man unresponsive in a swimming pool at a home on Jamaica Avenue in Wyandanch. Officers pulled the man out of the pool and performed CPR but were unable to revive him.

The man, Kenneth Murphy, 29, of Brooklyn, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The drownings were part of a growing trend on Long Island and around the country that experts attribute in part to the increased number of backyard pools installed since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2020.

Nationwide, about 4,500 people are expected to drown this year, said Adam Katchmarchi, CEO of the California-based National Drowning Prevention Alliance. Of that number, between 800 and 1,000 likely will be children under the age of 18.

Drownings are now the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4 nationwide and the second leading cause of death for kids ages 5 to 14, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

New York State broke its record in 2021, with more than 230 drownings, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Experts say the trend shows no signs of abating.

“2024 is looking to be frankly a bad year for drowning across the country,” Katchmarchi said. “It’s not surprising this time of year.”

Ten people have drowned so far this year in Suffolk, five of them under the age of 25, according to Mike Martino, a spokesman for Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine. There were 15 cases in all of 2023, he said.

“We must do all we can to prevent these tragedies from occurring,” Romaine said in a statement Friday. “Please be vigilant around pools. Put the phone down and pay attention. Watch your children or any other people in the water, and never leave them unattended. Do all you can to protect those around you, especially our children.”

At a news conference at a public pool in Centereach on Saturday, officials wore “water watcher” tags on bright orange lanyards to urge residents to take precautions, including designating an adult to supervise pools during gatherings.

The tags feature safety tips to keep in mind: avoid distractions and cellphones, scan the water, never leave children unattended and stay on duty until another adult can relieve you.

“Parties are just as much work as they are fun,” said Brookhaven Councilman Neil Manzella. “You have to constantly keep an eye out. It’s not something to be taken lightly.”

Sharing the responsibility in 15- or 20-minute increments can help, and officials said the method should even be used at the beach when lifeguards are present.

Rudy Sunderman, deputy commissioner of Suffolk Fire Rescue and Emergency Services, said CPR and swimming lessons give a “fighting chance” at preventing future tragedies. The county offers CPR certifications. Anyone interested can call 631-852-5080 for more information, officials said.

“If CPR is started within the first three to five minutes, the chance of survival increases about 40 to 50%,” Sunderman said Saturday. 

The number of drownings of children between 1 and 4 years old increased by 28% between 2019 and 2022, according to the CDC. African American people of any age saw the same percentage increase between 2019 and 2021, the CDC said.

“It’s 100% preventable and that’s the unfortunate, sad part — it is so preventable following the proper layers of protection that are out there,” said Bobby Hazen, president of Coram-based Stop Drowning Now, a national organization. “But people aren’t educated, they don’t think it’s going to happen to them.”

New York State law requires fences or other barriers at least 4 feet high surrounding pools, with self-closing and self-latching doors or gates. The gates or doors must be locked and access to the pool prevented when it is not supervised.

Suffolk police are asking anyone with information about the two drownings in that county to call the Homicide Squad at 631-852-6392.

With Vera Chinese