2 Children Rescued From OKC Swimming Pool

Lifeguards at an Oklahoma City pool saved two young children from drowning.

The siblings were rescued from about three feet of water where they were found floating face down. It happened on Thursday around 5 p.m.

“We've been reaching capacity a lot this summer,” said Mason Williams, Unit Operations Supervisor with the City of Oklahoma City.

Families, many with young children, are cooling off in this extreme summer heat at the city’s public pools.

“More eyes watching the water is always better for everyone,” Williams said. “Lifeguards are assigned in rotation to watch different zones around the pool.”

]Williams says it was during their watch on Thursday when lifeguards spotted trouble at Will Rogers Family Aquatic Center. He says they saw a brother and sister, both under 10 years old, floating face down in the water.

“Lifeguards jumped into action with the help of a patron as well, and got those kids out of the water,” he said.

One child was unresponsive, but after one cycle of CPR, Williams says the child was revived. Police say both children were alert and out of the water when officers arrived.

“Their training kicked in,” said Williams. “They get the CPR and the AED, the first aid, all of that training.”

The city has 72 lifeguards who work at five different pools throughout the city, most of them between 16 and 25 years of age.

“They're entrusted with a great responsibility,” Williams said. “They jumped right into it and made the situation, what could have been a bad situation a positive outcome.

While the lifeguards are on duty, the city says there are ways you can help ensure a safe day at the pool.

“We try to make sure that our kids especially are well taken care of, we encourage, always swim with a buddy, parents to be around kids as best as possible and then swim lessons are the biggest thing we can do to help, both youth and adults, learn how to be safe around the water,” he said.

The children were taken to the hospital as a precaution. If you would like to learn more about swimming lessons, during the summer and year-round, click here: https://www.okc.gov/departments/parks-recreation/aquatics