Ways to curb drownings are clear as water

News of three pool drownings over two days on Long Island last week provided yet another heartbreaking snapshot of a perennial but evidently growing problem. As always, the most horrifying aspect may be that so many such accidents were so preventable.

One victim was a 7-year-old boy who died Thursday in East Meadow. Shortly thereafter, police raced to a home in East Northport where John Vormbaum, 79, was pulled, unresponsive, from a residential pool. Both were pronounced dead at hospitals. Hours later, early on Friday, Suffolk police pulled Kenneth Murphy, 29, from a pool in Wyandanch. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

All in all, this was a sadly unnecessary cluster of lost lives.

Obviously, facts and victim profiles vary by case. Nationwide, about 4,500 people are expected to drown this year, Adam Katchmarchi, chief executive of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance in California, told Newsday. Self-enforced common-sense safety steps are positively essential to fight the scourge. Many have heard them before but clearly the public at large needs to hear them again to save lives. Perhaps new strategies, presented in a more compelling way, are needed. 

Remember: Adults must keep a focused vigilance with kids in the pool. It is distressing that according to the organization stopdrowningnow.com, 88% of all drownings occur with at least one adult present — and that drowning is the number-one cause of accidental deaths for children between one and four years old.

Remember, too: Adult watchers should be designated as such, and must actively and constantly pay attention to children in the pool. That means, for those watchers: eyes off the iPad, the smartphone, or whatever else. Look, listen, and be aware. For the younger ones, a grown-up should be staying within arm’s reach. Barriers must be installed to prevent unpermitted entry, and the ladder should be removed for an above-ground pool when it is not in use.

Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine made appropriate sense when he practically begged parents in a public statement on Monday to “take some time this season to learn about pool safety” which “could mean the difference between life and death.” Part of that means no running around the pool. Dive only where appropriate. Swim sober, and with a buddy.

Pools are one source of safety concern. But swimming at our beaches carries its own set of natural hazards of which to be aware. Mind the rip currents. Know how they behave. Don’t try to swim against the current; it’s possible to swim out of potential trouble by following parallel to the shoreline, or toward breaking waves, then at an angle toward the beach. Don’t go alone. Stay in sight of lifeguards. And don’t go in the water if you haven’t yet learned to swim. Lessons are available in most communities.

Whether it’s at the beach or in the pool, the path to averting most drowning tragedies is clear. Why not follow it?