Crime & Safety
Near-Drowning in East Lake Prompts Pool Safety Campaign
"They looked one minute and she was fine. They looked the next minute and she was at the bottom of the pool," said East Lake Fire Rescue Chief Tom Jamison about the family of a 3-year-old girl who nearly drowned at a community pool.
A 3-year-old girl nearly lost her life in an East Lake community pool earlier this month. Now, local organizations are teaming up with the hope of preventing future pool accidents in East Lake.
Representatives from East Lake Fire Rescue, the Safe Kids Coalition and Florida Safe Pools will be visiting about 50 homes in the Brooker Creek Villas subdivision on Tuesday, July 23 to spread awareness about pool safety.
They'll be going door-to-door to let residents know how to keep kids safe.
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"We're trying to get face-to-face with everybody there," said East Lake Fire Rescue Chief Tom Jamison.
The toddler, who is from New York, was visiting her grandparents with her family. They were at the community pool on July 14 when the little girl was found under water. Jamison says it happened very quickly.
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"They looked one minute and she was fine. They looked the next minute and she was at the bottom of the pool," he said.
It's estimated she was under water for about 30 seconds. The toddler's father performed CPR on his daughter and she was alert when East Lake firefighters arrived. However, she was flown to All Children's Hospital because of complications. She has since made a full recovery and is back at her home in New York.
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