Weekend Brings One Drowning After Another

Orange County firefighters responded to five drowning calls this weekend alone, with three fatalities.

That brings the total this year to 68 drownings, 30 of them fatal. The Orange County Fire Authority considers what is colloquially referred to as “near drownings” to be drownings, even if they don’t end in immediate death.

This weekend, rescue workers were kept busy:

On Friday, 53-year-old man condo complex in Irvine, died, swimming alone.

Later Friday evening, 2-year-old was left unattended at the pool at the Red Roof Inn in Santa Ana,

“An uncle was out by the pool but not paying attention,” said Fire Captain Steve Concialdi.

Then, in the early hours of Saturday, a 57-year-old woman from Fountain Valley died in a Costa Mesa hotel swimming pool.

Saturday day time, a 3-year-old was found in a condo complex spa not breathing., Concialdi said. An off-duty nurse did CPR.

Finally, on Saturday evening, a 15-year-old boy died at pool party in Garden Grove.

“The common denominator is adults swimming alone and children left unattended in or near the water....even for a short amount of time,“ Concialdi said.

“Kids are attracted to the water because to them, the water means ’playtime,’” Concialdi added. “However, they can drown within seconds without a sound.”

PHOTO Patch file photo credit: Renee Schiavone.