Palm Harbor Fire Rescue To Help Keep Children Safe Around Pools

PALM HARBOR, FL -- Palm Harbor Fire Rescue and the Florida Suncoast Safe Kids Coalition are teaming up this Saturday, March 24, to bring water safety awareness to 684 residents in the Beacon Groves subdivision.

As spring break kicks off in Pinellas County, more and more families will be spending time outdoors and in back-yard pools.

On Saturday, firefighters and Safe Kids members will be going door to door, meeting residents and offering information to keep their pools safe, on local swim lessons and barriers that can be put in place to prevent unintentional drownings.

Two days later, Palm Harbor Fire Rescue, the Suncoast Safe Kids Coalition and Clearwater Fire & Rescue will partner to host a children's life vest giveaway at Station 46 on Clearwater Beach. That event takes place March 26. There will be educational materials on hand as well.

"The Beacon Groves neighborhood is one of the largest neighborhoods in Palm Harbor and has over 200 pools both in ground and above ground,” said Fire Chief Craig Maciuba. “We will go door to door along with our community partners and offer educational materials and, to the best of our ability, help homeowners make repairs to broken fencing and identify hazards.”

"Drowning is the leading cause of death for children between the ages of 1 and 4,” said Petra Vybiralova, Safe Kids supervisor at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital. “Florida leads the nation in the number of drownings each year. That's why our coalition works tirelessly to prevent these tragedies from happening."

Palm Harbor Fire Rescue has been actively involved with the Suncoast Safe Kids Coalition for more than 18 years.

The canvass will include representatives from across Pinellas County including Palm Harbor Fire Rescue, Clearwater Fire & Rescue, Baycare, St. Petersburg Parks and Recreation, East Lake Fire Rescue, Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, Pinellas County Health Department, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, Sunstar, the North Pinellas Fire Cadets Post 969, the Beacon Groves Neighborhood Association and Palm Harbor Auxiliary "Fully Involved.”

Safe Kids is a global organization with more than 600 coalitions in the United States. The focus is on reducing unintentional injuries among children.

The canvass begins at10 a.m. on March 24. The parking lot located at the front entrance to Beacon Groves at 34650 US 19 N. will be the staging area.

For more information about the Palm Harbor Fire Rescue canvass in Beacon Groves, contact Elizabeth Graham at (727) 683-1647 or (727) 784-0454.

For more information about the life vest giveaway at Station 46 on March 26, contact Rob Shaw at (727) 562-4333.

Image via Palm Harbor Fire Rescue