Phoenix toddler dies at hospital following near drowning, FD says

PHOENIX - A 16-month-old boy died after crews transported him to the hospital from a Phoenix home where he nearly drowned.

The incident happened near Bell Road and 51st Avenue. Phoenix Fire Capt. Evan Gammage says the boy was in severely critical condition when he was pulled from the water, then died at the hospital.

"This was just a family pool and a horrible accident. The family is having the worst day of their life today, so our real focus is on, you know, supporting them in any way that we can. Providing whatever resources we can to this family in this unfortunate scenario," Gammage said.

Phoenix firefighters say drownings like this are happening all too often.

"This is unfortunately very prevalent in our state. In general, we have a lot of backyard pools and unfortunately, we encounter a high volume of drownings," Gammage explained. "Having drownings is difficult for anybody, for anybody who is encountering, especially when we are dealing with the passing of a child. We are parents as well. We are people as well. So it does hit us hard."
 

This is the second near-drowning of a young child in less than 24 hours. In the first case, police say a babysitter was arrested after an infant was pulled from a bathtub in El Mirage on June 16.