Pool Safety Stressed As Summer Break Comes To An End

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NEW YORK (CBSMiami) - As the summer school break winds down, families are being urged to not to let their guard down when it comes to pool safety.

It's a reminder being supported by Olympic skier Bode Miller who lost his 19-month-old daughter Emmy who drowned in a neighbor's pool.

Nicole Hughes' three-year-old son Levi drowned on the same day at a hotel in Alabama.

"We got down there so fast, I was sprinting down the stairs. They jumped in the water. He was out, they started CPR," she recalled.

He didn't make it.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, drowning is the number one cause of accidental death for children ages one to four. Last summer alone, 112 kids under the age of five died in swimming pools.

Josh Lockwood, with the American Red Cross, said a child near a pool needs constant supervision.

"You also want a fence around all four sides of the pool and that should be four feet tall and that pool fence should have a self-latching door," he added.

Lockwood said ladders or steps should be childproofed and he recommends a pool alarm, which sends an alert when someone enters the water.

He also suggests starting swimming lessons early.

"Every person going in the water should be able to jump in of their own accord, resurface, be able to turn around in a full circle, be able to tread water for a minute," said Lockwood.

Lockwood adds with each tragedy, the only silver lining is the opportunity to remind parents of the pool guidelines that could make the difference between life and death.