Two Fresno toddlers hospitalized after falling in pool

Two-year-old twins were rushed to the hospital Thursday morning after they fell into a murky swimming pool in southeast Fresno, police reported. As of Friday morning, the boy remained in pediatrics intensive care and was on a breathing machine, while his sister was upgraded to a regular room, both at Valley Children’s Hospital.

Lt. Joe Gomez said the children’s father performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the two after discovering them in the pool and managed to get both breathing again. Gomez described the incident:

The father and the children were at the home of a relative near Dakota and Temperance avenues, and the children were playing in the living room. The father went into a bathroom for a few minutes and when he returned, he noticed that a glass door was open.

When he went outside, he saw his daughter floating face-up in the pool. He pulled her from the water and dove into the murky, green water to rescue the boy from the bottom of the deep end. He initiated CPR, which he learned at Valley Children’s.

Mary Jo Quintero, coordinator for the water safety program at Valley Children’s, said the classes provide the best chance for the best possible outcome. Permanent damage is possible if the brain doesn’t receive oxygen for more than three minutes, so a parent or relative kick-starting the breathing process until first responders arrive is crucial.

Quintero said the accident shows how important it is to build a fence around a pool with a twisting gate knob – not one that pulls down, which is easier to force open. If you have an alarm system, you can have your provider enable a chime on your doors. This will alert you if your children leave the house without you noticing, Quintero said.

On Friday morning, Gomez said currently “it does not appear any charges will be filed against any parents or other adults involved in this incident. Investigators are finding that their statements are consistent and matches physical evidence at the location of occurrence.”

This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 2:08 PM with the headline "Two Fresno toddlers hospitalized after falling in pool."