PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — As it begins to heat up in South Florida, families are going to be flocking to pools and beaches.
On Saturday, Palm Beach Gardens city leaders and first responders hosted its inaugural April Pool’s Day to spread awareness about the importance of pool safety.
"Our intention is for it to be an annual occurrence to bring water safety and information to the people in our community that we serve," Katie Waskiewicz, aquatics supervisor, said.
Families gathered at the Palm Beach Gardens Aquatics Complex for lessons on sun safety, supervised swimming, life jackets, rescue techniques, small boating and open water safety, and hands-only CPR.
"It’s so important because water is everywhere we turn, and we really have to make sure that the community that we serve knows what to do if they are in a situation where they have to make a decision and they have to act,” Waskiewicz said.
Drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.
The most recent data from Florida Health Charts shows in 2022 that Palm Beach County had the second highest number of unintentional drownings in the state with 42. The state had 464.
"A lot of times you think it will never happen to me. I take all these precautions," Waskiewicz. said. "But drowning doesn’t have favorites. It can happen to anyone."
The event brought in families from all over the county.
"With all the sports and stuff that we do outside: fishing, kayaking, things like that, it gives me peace of mind that she’s going to be a great swimmer," Kevin Yepez said.
The Aquatics Complex opens every Saturday through mid-May for open swim.
For more water safety tips, click here.
