The Fire Department, paramedics, and ambulance responders display their equipment and offer safety information. On the final day, the participants graduate and are honored at the closing ceremony.

These children join over 20,000 other kids nationwide who have participated in the award-winning ZAC Camps that combine classroom instruction with swimming lessons and opportunities to learn important skills from First Responders so both kids and their parents learn to enjoy the water safely while understanding avoidable risks.

Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional death for children aged 1-4 and the second leading cause of unintentional death for children aged 1-14, according to the CDC.

The ZAC Foundation (TZF) was co-founded by Karen and Brian Cohn of Greenwich, CT, after their six-year-old son, Zachary Archer Cohn, drowned in a drain entrapment in their backyard pool. TZF works to ensure families have the tools to keep their children safe around water. ZAC Camps are held in partnership with local organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club and the American Red Cross.

A key component of the ZAC Camps is learning the importance of following the A, B, C, and Ds of water safety:

• A is for Adults: Children should never have access to any form of water without an adult.
• B is for Barrier: Barriers, like fences and gates, should restrict children’s access to all forms of water.
• C is for Classes: At the appropriate age, children need to take swimming lessons.
• D is for Drains: Pool drains are dangerous to all swimmers.

Water is everywhere around us! It’s in bathtubs, buckets, pools, beaches, canals, lakes, ditches, fish tanks, toilets, and even our pet’s water dish! It is important to teach children (and adults) to pay attention to the water around us and to practice safer behaviors around all forms of water. Water is fun, but it is also dangerous and should be respected.

Here in Fullerton, there is the Australian Swim School that offers year-round indoor pools where parents help teach children to swim. They have been saving lives since 1977. Call (855) SWIM2DAY or visit http://www.australianswimschool.com