Pool safety: Parents who lost young son preach message of constant vigilance

Monday, May 7, 2001 | 11:21 a.m.

Lonnie Noble can still hear the happy, babbling voice of her son Timmy when the 18-month-old followed a group of older children into the family's yard. A moment or two passed before Noble realized she could no longer hear Timmy's voice and went to look for him.

She found him floating facedown in their pool.

The Nobles had removed the ladder to the above-ground pool, but Timmy had managed to climb up on the filter and tubing and fall into the water.

Timmy survived, but with severe brain damage. He died at home April 17, 1996, after eight years of living in a wheelchair, unable to even feed himself.

To help keep other families from experiencing the same anguish, the Nobles appear in a public service announcement for the Clark County Health District. The campaign, "Constant Adult Supervision," launches today.

"You can't rely on fences or electronic covers or locking gates," Lonnie Noble said during an interview at her Summerlin home. "The only thing that's going to protect your child is your eyes."

Joe Noble, who works for the county's fire protection bureau, says he vividly remembers the panic of the 90-minute drive from his office in Laughlin June 2, 1988, when he got the call that his son had been found. When he reached University Medical Center, doctors said Timmy wasn't likely to survive, and the Nobles began planning his funeral.

"If I could go back and do it all over again, there's no way we would have a pool," said Noble, who also has two sons and a daughter. "It's just impossible to know every second what your child is doing, and the risk isn't worth it. Believe me."

Drowning is the leading cause of death for children 4 and younger in Nevada, Clark County Health District spokeswoman Julie Sizemore said. Last year six children younger than 14 drowned in Nevada, and there were 44 near drownings.

The Southern Nevada Pool Code, which is enforced by Clark County and the city of Las Vegas, is one of the strictest in the nation. Pools must have 5-foot fences surrounding them; most other states only require 4-foot fences.

But fences, even self-locking ones at apartment complexes or hotels, can't be expected to keep a child safe, Sizemore said.

"There's no substitution for supervision," she said.

Jeff Hurley, a paramedic for American Medical Response, said drownings and near drownings can be some of the most traumatic calls.

"Any time it involves a kid, it's tragic," Hurley said. "With drownings, it's simply the child's innocent curiosity that gets them in trouble. They don't mean to hurt anyone."

Hurley responded to a near-drowning call two weeks ago at a Las Vegas home. By the time he reached the scene, the parents had pulled the toddler from the pool and begun CPR. The child recovered, Hurley said. But last year Hurley was called to a public pool where a 4-year-old boy had slipped beneath the surface. He wasn't spotted by a lifeguard until it was too late, and paramedics were unable to save him.

"Even at a pool with lifeguards, that's no guarantee of safety," Hurley said. "All it takes is a split-second and enough water to cover the child's face."

The health district's pool safety campaign is co-sponsored by Con-Am Real Estate Management, which oversees nearly 12,000 apartments in the Las Vegas area. The company will sponsor pool parties with swimming and CPR lessons throughout the summer, spokeswoman Karen Mordue said.

"We want people to realize that we can't be everywhere and see everything," Mordue said. "They have to take responsibility for their children."