Child drownings reach highest in over a decade for Maricopa, Pinal counties

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — As the temperatures warm up and more people head out to the pools and lakes, first responders want families to ensure their kids are safe around water.

More people died last year in Maricopa and Pinal counties from drowning than in any other year since numbers started getting recorded in 2005. In Arizona, drowning is the leading cause of death for children 1 to 4 years old. It can happen in seconds and is often silent. First responders want to make sure you have a plan in place, not only for the summer but year-round.

“It’s the worst call we can go on. It’s hard to get over that,” Megan Tranter, a captain with the Phoenix Fire Department, said. “I personally have two children. It is gut-wrenching knowing that you are going to be going into a call where a child has drowned.”

As a first responder and a mother, she wants the message to reach families this summer. “Know how to swim,” she said.

So far this year, one child, a three-year-old boy, died after being found unconscious in a backyard pool in Chandler. But numbers from previous years paint a grim picture of the reality of kids near water.

According to Children’s Safety Zone, in 2024, 79 adults and kids died from drowning in Maricopa and Pinal counties. That is the highest number since records started being kept in 2005.

And the number of kids under five years old who died from drowning last year was the highest in more than a decade, at 19, which is up seven from the year prior. But it’s not only happening in pools, lakes, or rivers.

“We also have to remember that drowning can occur in just an inch of water,” Tranter said. “We do get drownings in buckets and in bathtubs. It can happen in the house as well.”

Tranter says it’s crucial to teach your kids that they are not allowed to go into the pool and swim alone. That’s just step one.

“Having someone around the pool that is designated as the person that is watching,” she said. “Not getting distracted, no drugs or alcohol when you are supervising.”

Homeowners in Phoenix are required to have a fence or wall around the pool that is at least five feet tall and self-latching. Still, in some deadly drowning cases, families have had a pool fence. Tranter recommends doing even more.

“Having an alarm system in your house, having door handles that are higher than where a child can reach. Having the alerts that go off when a door is open,” she said. “Everybody in a swimming pool should know how to swim and not rely on floaties or a life jacket.”

Tranter recommends that families take advantage of the swim lessons offered by the city of Phoenix and the CPR and first aid classes offered twice a month by the United Phoenix Firefighters Charities. Families in Phoenix can also apply for a free pool fence through Child Crisis Arizona.

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