Drowning in pop century hotel.

[copcarguyp71]

Just to address the ludacrous ing contest on page one of this thread...

Drowning is the process of experiencing respiratory impairment from submersion/immersion in liquid

 

[Master Yoda]

Apparently the boy is in serious condition and recovering at the hospital.

http://www.cfnews13.com/content/new...icles/cfn/2013/3/11/boy_in_serious_condi.html

At least we know Channel 13 reads WDWMagic. The "quote from a witness" in that article is a cut and paste of the OP.

 

[AndyS2992]

At least we know Channel 13 reads WDWMagic. The "quote from a witness" in that article is a cut and paste of the OP.

That quote has been passed around several news sites. They are all just copying and pasting it. Doesn't necessarily mean they read this forum lol

 

[Master Yoda]

That quote has been passed around several news sites. They are all just copying and pasting it. Doesn't necessarily mean they read this forum lol

At least one of them did.

 

[captainkidd]

Just to clarify a few things here:

1.Lifeguards are usually off duty at all resort pools by 10:00, 11:00 at the very latest.
2.Technically, guests aren't supposed to be swimming past midnight, but that's not enforced.
3.Whoever asked how it was possible to drown in a pool with other people in it - I doubt it was very busy that late at night. It was dark. People don't pay attention to other kids. That's the job of the parents, which is what I'm waiting to hear about.

 

[ratherbeinwdw]

For those of you who have never done anything you regret with all your heart from ignorance or faulty prior knowledge, then I guess you can throw those stones at the parents. We should be holding them up, offering our prayers and support at least until we know more. Someone may have lost their precious child last night. That is all that should matter. And, we are talking about a 13 year, who may have been with other trusted family members.

 

[G00fyDad]

He may have been with his parents for all we truly know. Heck, he could have been right next to them and fell in, hitting his head. At this early point we still know very little. Only what the news agencies have rushed to put out in the effort to "have a scoop" on the others. Wait a few hours.

I have seen many news outlets post something that is only about half right, then the others follow suit. A few hours later the real story emerges.

 

[Gabe1]

My prayers still are focused on the young man and his family.

My son, several years ago was a CP, a lifeguard. They use the training system Ellis. Ellis uses a constant scanning routine system. If you stop and watch those lifeguards, follow the patterns their heads take as they watch the water. Disney's lifeguards are all retrained when hired, my son did a solid week at Mickey's Retreat of 8 hours a day just to retrain to Disney's Ellis program. Beyond the pool training they are certified in extensive emergency training, from choking, first response to heart attack, seizures, spinals until EMTs arrive. Ellis requires 4 hours of back up training per month from certified Ellis trainers to keep their skills sharp.

It tends to make me lean towards there wasn't lifeguards at the pool at that time, because even if the lifeguard missed the child go under the lifeguards would have been likely the ones that would be performing the CPR until the EMTs arrived. My DD is an Ellis Trainer, she trains and certifies lifeguards, she stated that it is protocol for lifeguards to take over rescues until EMTs arrive.

Rule of thumb, never swim alone, no matter what the age is.

 

[Gabe1]

He may have been with his parents for all we truly know. Heck, he could have been right next to them and fell in, hitting his head. At this early point we still know very little. Only what the news agencies have rushed to put out in the effort to "have a scoop" on the others. Wait a few hours.

I have seen many news outlets post something that is only about half right, then the others follow suit. A few hours later the real story emerges.

That is so true. I remember the horrible things being said immediately after the monorail accident.

 

[Tinkerkell]

I'm curious as to how a 13 year old manages to drown in such a busy pool that isn't that deep.

If it's the Hippy Dippy pool, I think some areas are a little over 5 feet. If the teen wasn't that good of a swimmer or had a health issue happen while swimming (seizure, whatever) it wouldn't take long to be in trouble in 5' of water.

As for the comments about the parents (I couldn't multi-quote), I would think that most 13 yos are not watched 24/7 and are not watched every single second as a preschooler may be when swimming. Putting my flameproof suit on, but my kids are EXCELLENT swimmers and at ages 14 and 16 I trust them to be on their own at the pools. I am usually there in a lounge chair, but there are times that I might go back to the room for something and trust they are OK in the pool on their own. I think the official WDW pool policy is that one must be 12 or older to swim without adult supervision.

My thoughts and prayers are with the boy and his family.

We have always found WDW lifeguards to be diligent. Perhaps this happened when the lifeguard was off-duty?

 

[Goofyernmost]

I apologize as well for my unnecessary reaction. It's just that I have been involved in situations were false information was put out there as fact and it can be a problem for a lot of people. If the headline had read, Emergency at Pop Century, I wouldn't have had a problem with it. But, although just a difference in how one defines a word, it was just not a sure thing. They may have been absolutely correct, I don't know and even I will speculate that if they left with sirens, then the person was not dead. They don't do that to transport a dead body usually.

Anyway, my reaction was out of line and I am sorry that it even went as far as it did.

 

[taz0162]

Why is the title "Drowning at Pop Century". All you seem to know is that rescue was there and they did CPR. That could have been any number of things and drowning requires a dead body. It's OK to tell people that something happened there, but please don't be misleading.

It's because bad news sells. Look at local news stations or cover of newspapers.

 

[AndyS2992]

If it's the Hippy Dippy pool, I think some areas are a little over 5 feet. If the teen wasn't that good of a swimmer or had a health issue happen while swimming (seizure, whatever) it wouldn't take long to be in trouble in 5' of water.

I believe it was the Bowling Pin pool which is the shallowest of the three. Not that it really matters, you can drown in a puddle if you try

 

[Ariel484]

My prayers still are focused on the young man and his family.

My son, several years ago was a CP, a lifeguard. They use the training system Ellis. Ellis uses a constant scanning routine system. If you stop and watch those lifeguards, follow the patterns their heads take as they watch the water. Disney's lifeguards are all retrained when hired, my son did a solid week at Mickey's Retreat of 8 hours a day just to retrain to Disney's Ellis program. Beyond the pool training they are certified in extensive emergency training, from choking, first response to heart attack, seizures, spinals until EMTs arrive. Ellis requires 4 hours of back up training per month from certified Ellis trainers to keep their skills sharp.

It tends to make me lean towards there wasn't lifeguards at the pool at that time, because even if the lifeguard missed the child go under the lifeguards would have been likely the ones that would be performing the CPR until the EMTs arrived. My DD is an Ellis Trainer, she trains and certifies lifeguards, she stated that it is protocol for lifeguards to take over rescues until EMTs arrive.

Rule of thumb, never swim alone, no matter what the age is.

I was a lifeguard at a Six Flags park years ago, also trained under Ellis - very thorough and intense training, and like you said, 4 hours of inservice each month. Part of the inservice was, like you said, reviewing lifeguarding skills, CPR and first aid. We were even tested with fake emergency scenarios and had to run everything through from beginning to end, and unlike Red Cross (which renews certification every 3 years) we had to get renewed every year.

Each guard is assigned a zone to scan (specifically told to scan the bottom of the pool as well) and there's a specific procedure when it comes to changing shifts...if done correctly a zone should never not be watched at a given time. So I'm with you...I'd like to believe that this was an accident that happened when they weren't on duty.

 

[Gabe1]

If it's the Hippy Dippy pool, I think some areas are a little over 5 feet. If the teen wasn't that good of a swimmer or had a health issue happen while swimming (seizure, whatever) it wouldn't take long to be in trouble in 5' of water.

As for the comments about the parents (I couldn't multi-quote), I would think that most 13 yos are not watched 24/7 and are not watched every single second as a preschooler may be when swimming. Putting my flameproof suit on, but my kids are EXCELLENT swimmers and at ages 14 and 16 I trust them to be on their own at the pools. I am usually there in a lounge chair, but there are times that I might go back to the room for something and trust they are OK in the pool on their own. I think the official WDW pool policy is that one must be 12 or older to swim without adult supervision.

My thoughts and prayers are with the boy and his family.

We have always found WDW lifeguards to be diligent. Perhaps this happened when the lifeguard was off-duty?

I agree. My children were competition swimmers from the time they were 6 years old. I let my DS and DD go down to the pool, when guards were on duty when they were teenagers as a pair, I let them go by themselves to Blizzard Beach on their own when DS was 16 and DD was 11, they were to stay together. Also when my DD, DS were in middle school, they went to the community pool without me, with her friends. Sometimes these kids smack their heads on side of pool jumping in, do summer-salts in the water and hit the bottom. We had one swim team member have a seizure in the pool and another went into a diabetic coma while using a kickboard.

Hard to speculate what happened in this case. For all I know the guests doing CPR could have been the parents.

 

[RandomPrincess]

For the people asking how no one could have noticed here is a great article to check out. It features a story of parents who didn't realize their child was drowning right next to them. Most people expect a drowning person will look like they do in the movies - flailing around and yelling for help

From article -

"There is very little splashing, no waving, and no yelling or calls for help of any kind. To get an idea of just how quiet and undramatic from the surface drowning can be, consider this: It is the number two cause of accidental death in children, age 15 and under (just behind vehicle accidents) – of the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult. In ten percent of those drownings, the adult will actually watch them do it, having no idea it is happening"
Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning

 

[R W B]

Just to clarify a few things

2.Technically, guests aren't supposed to be swimming past midnight, but that's not enforced.

Not true, I know 1 of the values and I'm pretty sure it's Pop is open 24/7. Says so on the "pool rules" sign.

This is a sad story and I hope the boy recovers but at the same time, I hope Disney doesn't freak out and start closing pools at 9pm or whenever the life guards get off.

 

[GrumpyFan]

If the picture from the news is correct, it's the bowling pin pool, which may not have had lifeguards on duty at that time. In general, the pools usually have lifeguards on duty from 10am - 10pm, but that's subject to change. Many times, only the main pool keeps lifeguards on duty up until the stated closing times, after that, you're on your own. But technically, most all of the pools are open 24 hours, however, if you're in them after hours or late at night and making lots of noise, they may ask you to quiet down or leave (I know this from experience).

 

[Tinkerkell]

I could be wrong as it's been a while since we've stayed at Pop, but I think that the Hippy Dippy pool is the only pool with life guards there. The computer pool and bowling pin pools are quiet pools, which I think are swim at your own risk.

 

[luv]

Channel 6, too, said that he is "in serious condition", but they said he was at Celebration (as of six a.m.) They also quoted Kramerica - had bits of the post right up there on the screen." They didn't call him Kramerica, though. I wish one of them would use his name.

I am honestly shocked that some Joe-off-the-street got a kid back by doing CPR, if that's what happened. The odds against it are so high. But it gives me hope. "Serious condition", though. That could mean anything from "we are keeping him stable for 24 hours so he can become an organ donor" to "he is improving and expected to make a complete recovery." I pray for the latter, of course.

And I continue to pray for his parents, who have to live every parent's nightmare. God help them.

I doubt we will hear much more about this. By now, the lawyers are all working overtime. And after, "Don't sign anything", I think their #1 piece of advice is, "Don't talk to anyone about this."