Henderson, Nev. – This weekend, a 2-year-old girl was resuscitated after nearly drowning in an apartment complex pool. The horrifying event follows the drowning of three young children in Henderson backyard pools since April.

Henderson Police and Fire are determined to make sure parents know the dangers a pool or Jacuzzi can pose to an unattended child. A drowning can occur in less than a minute.

“Parents need to supervise young children around pools. A tragedy can occur in minutes and devastate a family forever,” Henderson Police Chief Richard Perkins said. “Drowning is a silent killer that can strike even older children who are experienced swimmers. To prevent more tragedies, we must always be aware of our children when they are in or near the water.”

Last weekend, a 58-year-old man was charged with felony child abuse when the 16-month-old girl he was watching drowned. Ivar McDonald was babysitting his girlfriend’s granddaughter, at their home in the 1500 block of Equestrian Drive, June 29. He and the girl were sitting on the edge of the pool, when, he said, he closed his eyes for just a few minutes.  When he opened his eyes, he said, the girl was floating face-down in the pool.  Police and paramedics were unsuccessful in their attempt to revive the child.  McDonald was charged with child abuse, after detectives found that he was intoxicated at the time of the drowning and failed to provide proper supervision of the child.

“The number of children drowning in pools this year needs to serve as a wakeup call for the community.  All pool owners need to take action by installing barriers and alarms, and by providing constant adult supervision when children have access to pools,” Henderson Fire Chief Doug Stevens said.  “One of the biggest problems is that parents don’t realize the danger a pool can be for a young child and how quickly a child can drown.”

Perkins and Stevens urge parents to not only supervise children around pools but also install fences surrounding these pools with self-closing gates and alarms. Even the most attentive parent can lose track of a toddler for a moment.  Fences around pools and child-proof latches on all gates can prevent additional tragedies.

In this most recent event, which occurred Sunday, the toddler fell into the pool at an apartment complex at 650 Whitney Ranch Drive. The girl’s grandfather started CPR, officers took over when they arrived, and she began breathing on her own moments later.  She was transported to a local hospital for observation.

The first child drowning of the year occurred April 7, when a 1-year-old girl was found in the backyard pool of her family’s home on Winona Terrace. The mother was getting ready for work and didn’t realize that a sliding glass door was open. The girl exited the house through the open door, went into the backyard, and fell into the pool. The pool had no security fence surrounding it.

The second child-drowning occurred on June 13 when a 14-month-old girl drowned in a backyard Jacuzzi at a home on Fortacre Street. Older siblings had been in the Jacuzzi, but had gone inside the home. The young girl, who was thought to be in the house, too, had apparently gone into the backyard.  She was later found floating in the Jacuzzi and died at a local hospital.

Last summer, there were two near-drowning in pools, but no children died due to drowning in Henderson..

Police and fire officials urge parents to fence all pools and install gate latches and alarms to ensure that when a child slips out of the house, they cannot get to the pool.