The near drowning of a 6-year-old at a University of North Florida summer camp this week is raising questions about pool safety and supervision.
According to the account posted on the Facebook page of the father, attorney John Phillips, his son’s life vest was so uncomfortable that he was instead given a pool noodle to use as a float.
The boy ended up underwater for an unknown number of minutes before someone pulled him out.
A UNF spokeswoman said two lifeguards on stands and a third on the pool deck were watching 10 camp counselors and 50 or so 5- and 6- year-olds in the water.
Jennifer Waindle has been a Red Cross-certified lifeguard instructor in Georgia for more than 15 years.
She said lifeguards typically monitor overlapping sections— or zones—of a pool.
“They’re visually scanning all the time and looking for clues for anyone who might be in trouble. And if someone slips under the water they have to recognize that. So it is a lot harder than the TV and the movies portray the job to be because you’re constantly looking for threats and dangers.”
Someone who needs rescuing, she said, might be swimming in a certain way — or not swimming at all.
“Everyone instinctively will go vertical in the water. They won’t be able to have much forward progress in kicking. They’ll flail their arms around; they might even just flail their hands around. And the body will know that it needs air and the head will tilt back and they’ll look up.”
Waindle said at that point a lifeguard has less than a minute to intervene.
In the case of the near drowning at UNF, Phillips said his son has recovered and is doing fine.
UNF officials said from now on they will require all 5- and 6-year-old summer campers to wear a life vest in the pool, regardless of whether or not they can swim.
Contact reporter Cyd Hoskinson at choskinson@wjct.org, 904-358-6351 and on Twitter @cydwjctnews.
Photo used under Creative Commons license.
