Irvine boy, 5, in critical condition after being found in family’s pool

A 5-year-old Irvine boy is in critical condition after being pulled from his family’s backyard pool Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

The boy’s father found him unresponsive in the water around 4:45 p.m. at their home in the 90 block of Canyon Creek, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.

Irvine police started CPR on the boy, who was in cardiac arrest, Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi said.

Paramedics took him to Hoag Hospital in Irvine, where they reestablished a pulse, Concialdi said. The boy was later transferred to Children’s Hospital of Orange County in Orange.

It was the fourth pool-related emergency involving children that firefighters in Orange County have responded to since Saturday, Concialdi said. In one case, a 2-year-old Coto de Caza girl died. In others, two toddlers were critically injured.

In all the cases, parents or other adults were inside their house when the children ended up in a backyard pool, according to the OCFA.

“The children are attracted to the water,” Concialdi said. “They do not understand the danger and the consequences. The water is play time for them.”

So far this year, there have been 17 such calls, nine of them fatal, according to the OCFA.

“Our hearts break for these four families this past week” Concialdi said. “These are devastating calls, and they affect so many people.”

There were 43 drownings across Orange County in 2014, according to the OCFA.

Pool safety tips

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission offers these tips for keeping children safe in residential pools:

• Always watch children when they are in or near a pool or spa.

• Learn how to swim and teach your child how to swim.

• Learn to perform CPR and update your skills regularly.

• Keep children away from pool drains, pipes and other openings to prevent them from becoming trapped.

• If a child is missing, look for him or her in the pool or spa first.

• Share safety instructions with family, friends and neighbors.

• Create a pool safety kit for your pool or spa containing a first-aid kit, a flotation device, a pair of scissors to cut hair, clothing or a pool cover, and a charged mobile phone to call 911.

• Install a 4-foot or taller fence around the pool and spa and use self-closing and self-latching gates.

• Use a lockable safety cover on your spa.

• Keep pool and spa covers in good working order.

• Install alarms or guards on doors and windows facing a pool or spa.

• Install pool and gate alarms to alert you when children go near the water.

For more information, visit https://www.poolsafely.gov.