MuskogeePhoenix.com, Muskogee, OK

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June 8, 2012

Ensure children have safe summer

As the days heat up and with children out of school for summer, local law enforcement officials are reminding adults to be vigilant when it comes to safety.

A tragedy can happen in a moment, even in the most careful environments.

Law enforcers suggestions are well-timed and should be heeded by anyone responsible for children, especially around bodies of water.

Children enjoy playing in pools and lakes and are naturally drawn to them.

According to the International Life Saving Federation website, more than 1.2 million people around the world drown every year. More than 50 percent of those are children.

At least some of those deaths were preventable.

Parents and adults should take extra precautions to ensure children have a safe summer.

And, it would not hurt for more adults to learn CPR.

Pool safety tips

• Fences and walls should be at least 4 feet high and installed completely around the pool. Fence gates should open outward from the pool and should be self-closing and self-latching. The latch should be out of a small child's reach.

• If your house forms one side of the barrier to the pool, then doors leading from the house to the pool should be protected with alarms that produce a sound when a door is unexpectedly opened.

• A power safety cover — a motor-powered barrier that can be placed over the water area — can be used when the pool is not in use.

• Keep rescue equipment by the pool and be sure a phone is poolside with emergency numbers posted.

• For above-ground pools, steps and ladders to the pool should be secured and locked, or removed when the pool is not in use.

• If a child is missing, always look in the pool first. Seconds count in preventing death or disability.

• Pool alarms can be used as an added precaution.

Source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, www.cpsc.gov.

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