Toddler drowns in Double Oak

A two-year-old girl drowned Wednesday in a pool behind a home in Double Oak.

Police said that a family member discovered Seyedeh Aliyeh Hashemi in a spa attached to a backyard swimming pool in the 200 block of Fox Trot Ln. just before 7:00 p.m.

Double Oak Officer Scot Frenzen and Argyle Fire Department paramedics were unsuccessful in their efforts to revive the girl, who was rushed to Presbyterian Hospital in Flower Mound via ambulance where she was pronounced dead.

An initial investigation revealed that numerous people were in the backyard and swimming pool area at the time but no one was aware that Hashemi had entered the water.

The investigation is ongoing and a cause of death ruling by the Medical Examiner’s Office is still pending.

Here are some pool safety tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics:

• Never leave children alone in or near the pool or spa, even for a moment.

• Install a fence at least 4 feet high around all four sides of the pool. The fence should not have openings or protrusions that a young child could use to get over, under, or through.

• Make sure pool gates open out from the pool, and self-close and self-latch at a height children can’t reach.

• If the house serves as the fourth side of a fence surrounding a pool, install an alarm on the exit door to the yard and the pool.

• Keep rescue equipment (a shepherd’s hook – a long pole with a hook on the end – and life preserver) and a portable telephone near the pool. Choose a shepherd’s hook and other rescue equipment made of fiberglass or other materials that do not conduct electricity.

• Avoid inflatable swimming aids such as “floaties.” They are not a substitute for approved life vests and can give children and parents a false sense of security.

• Children ages 1 to 4 may be at a lower risk of drowning if they have had some formal swimming instruction. However, there is no evidence that swimming lessons or water survival skills courses can prevent drowning in babies younger than 1 year of age.

• The decision to enroll a 1- to 4-year-old child in swimming lessons should be made by the parent and based on the child’s developmental readiness, but swim programs should never be seen as “drown proofing” a child of any age.

• Whenever infants or toddlers are in or around water, an adult – preferably one who knows how to swim and perform CPR – should be within arm’s length, providing “touch supervision.”

• Avoid entrapment: Suction from pool and spa drains can trap a swimmer underwater. Do not use a pool or spa if there are broken or missing drain covers.  Ask your pool operator if your pool or spa’s drains are compliant with the Pool and Spa Safety Act.  If you have a swimming pool or spa, ask your pool service representative to update your drains and other suction fitting with anti-entrapment drain covers and other devices or systems. See PoolSafely.gov for more information on the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act.

• Large inflatable above-ground pools have become increasingly popular for backyard use. Children may fall in if they lean against the soft side of an inflatable pool. Although such pools are often exempt from local pool fencing requirements, it is essential that they be surrounded by an appropriate fence just as a permanent pool would be so that children cannot gain unsupervised access.