PHOENIX — As the infamous summer heat starts to move into the Phoenix area, one Valley mother is sharing her story of near tragedy to drive home an important message.
Stryder Buck was just 11-months-old when he fell into his family’s swimming pool in February of 2014.
“He didn’t have a pulse, he didn’t have breath or color to him, he was blue, and I was terrified,” said Elizabeth Pappas in 2014.
Stryder’s father rushed the toddler to Pappas’ home after fishing the boy out of the pool. Pappas started C.P.R. on Stryder while 911 was called.
Pappas’ CPR efforts were successful and a now 7-year-old Stryder and his mother Terri shared their story of that day.
“He was left unattended by our swimming pool and fell in,” Buck said. No one is really sure how long he was underwater but when my ex-husband pulled him out, he was not breathing and didn’t have a pulse.”
Phoenix Fire Department and employees of the City of Phoenix gathered at the Buck’s home to raise awareness about water safety as we head into the swim season.
“We cannot impress upon you enough to always know where your children are at, at all times,” Phoenix Fire Department Captain Rob McDade said. “Remember, drowning is silent, they just go underwater.”
Capt. McDade suggests parents choose someone to act as a lifeguard while children are in the pool. Someone whose sole job and concentration are on those in and around the water.
“We’ve had drownings and near-drownings where there have been 12 to 15 adults poolside, in the pool, around the pool and they just assume somebody else is going to watch those children in the pool,” McDade said.
City of Phoenix employees recommend asking a city pool inspector to visit the home to look for areas or conditions that might lead to a drowning incident.
Don Councilor, an Inspections Field Supervisor with the City of Phoenix walked around the Buck’s new home looking for any areas that the Bucks would need to address.
“What we do before they allowed to fill the pool with water is check all their barriers,” Councilor said.
Aside from pre-fill inspections, the City will also send someone like Councilor to homes to look at current conditions.
“What we have here is a couple of gates,” Councilor said of the Buck house. “We have an RV gate and a pedestrian gate. The pedestrian gate is required to swing open away from the pool area and self-close,” Councilor said as he let the gate swing shut on its own. “This is in compliance.”
As important as barriers are for water safety, there is one factor that Terri Buck says is more important than all the rest: “Fences are great and pool covers are great, but nothing replaces the watchful eye of the parent.”
To review your city’s pool regulations, below are links to some of the Valley’s regulatory authorities.
