Saturday night at 10:56 p.m., Tucson Fire Department units responded to an apartment in the 1700 block of West Prince Road to reports of a near drowning involving an approximately 2 year-old female. The baby was found in the bathtub by the adult in the apartment but it was unknown as to how long the baby had been in the water.
Airway management instructions were provided by emergency dispatchers over the phone while Tucson Fire Department (TFD) personnel were en route. TFD personnel arrived on scene and quickly assessed the child.
Paramedics transported the baby to the hospital for further medical care and arrived at the hospital eleven minutes after first arriving at the apartment. The condition of the baby was considered to be life threatening, given the unknown time in the water.
Tucson Police was dispatched to the scene to investigate the circumstances of the near drowning.
From Tucson Fire Department:
The ABC’S of drowning prevention are critical for anyone around children to know:
- Active Adult Supervision, is the most important. Kids must be supervised at all times when around water.
- Barriers are important, make it difficult for children to ever get into water on accident.
- Classes focused on CPR for adults and swimming lessons or classes for kids. Knowing CPR makes everyone a first responder and can make a huge difference whether something is a drowning or a near drowning.