Child drowning deaths are increasing in Phoenix. How can you protect your kids?

Reports of fatal drownings for children up to 5 years old are increasing in Phoenix, according to data from Children's Safety Zone.

The Phoenix Fire Department has reported eight drowning deaths for children 5 and under, as of July 2024. That's double the amount of children 5 and under drowning deaths reported for the entire year of 2023, which totaled to four.

Lori Stauffer, Vice President of the Drowning Prevention Coalition of Arizona said that she can't say for certain what is contributing to this increase until cases for the entire year have been analyzed.

But she has a theory: Doubt that such a tragedy could happen to you.

"The steps to prevent drownings hasn't changed, in all of the years that the Drowning Prevention Coalition has been in place," Stauffer said. "I don't know that there's a silver bullet for this year, of why these are happening, except for this perception that it can't happen to them."

Here's what families can do to prevent risk of drowning.

Drownings occur when least expected

Stauffer said that 70% of drownings occur when children are not expected to be around the water. But she emphasized that, in all scenarios, adult supervision is crucial. Layers of protection, when lapses of supervision occur, can increase chances of survival.

Phoenix Fire Captain Shaun DuBois said these layers of protection are usually presented as the ABC's at Phoenix Fire Department:

• A for adult supervision.
• B for barriers, like fences and self-locking gates.
• C for classes, like early lessons on how to swim or learning how to perform CPR.

DuBois said adult supervision is the most effective safety measure. While pool fences and other barriers can momentarily fill in the gaps of safety when adult supervision is unavailable, their presence does not guarantee safety for a child near water.

"What we've found is, there's really nothing that outperforms adult supervision," DuBois said. "Don't let all of the other safety messages that we've talked about become a false sense of security."

Stacey McRae, a member of the DPCA advisory board, has made it her mission to educate parents on water safety after her son, Odin, drowned.

"When my son passed away, he was in swim lessons, I was very vigilant in watching him," she said. "But, it's more than that. There are so many other things you can do to protect your child."

McRae said that when it comes to adult supervision or barriers, it can't be one or the other in order to prevent drowning. Both must constantly be in practice, while children are in and out of the water.

"It's not just swim lessons, it's not just watching your child around the water, it's not just having a pool fence," she said. "It's all of these things combined in place, in order to prevent this from happening."

She echoed Stauffer's message that a drowning accident can happen to anyone.

"I was kind of one of those people who thought this couldn't happen to me," she said. "I never thought that I would lose my son to drowning. But it can and it will if you don't educate yourself and prepare and put all of these layers in place."

A look at the numbers

In 2024, the City of Phoenix has experienced a majority of pediatric drownings around the Valley. Here's a breakdown of where the incidents happened:

• Phoenix: 8
• Avondale: 2
• Glendale: 1
• Mesa: 1
• Peoria: 1

In Phoenix, pediatric drowning reports have doubled from the previous year, with four deaths recorded for 2023.

There were 13 pediatric fatal drownings reported in Maricopa and Pinal County as of July. This outnumbers the 12 pediatric drowning deaths reported in Maricopa and Pinal County for the entire year of 2023.

Here's what first responders says about water safety

Phoenix officials provided other ways to keep your kids safe around the pool:

• Install an approved barrier to separate a pool from the rest of the residence.
• Maintain lifesaving devices like a hook, pole or floatation device nearby.
• Never leave children unattended around water or a pool.
• Take steps to ensure an enclosed pool cannot be accessed with chairs, tables or ladders.
• Do not allow children to play in the pool area.
• Store toys far away from any water.

Reporter Kira Caspers contributed to this article.

Annie Goodykoontz is a reporter for The Arizona Republic. You can reach her at AGoodykoontz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Child drowning deaths are increasing in Phoenix. How can you protect your kids?