Over the weekend, three drowning incidents took the lives of two infants, a teenager and an adult putting water safety at the top of mind for so many people.
A one-year-old died in Madison County.
Another one-year-old drowned in Giles County Tennessee 24-hours later.
One day after that, a 17-year-old and his uncle drowned in Lawrence County.
A first responder says one of the most important things you can do in situations like these is call for help.
Danny Kelso is the Chief with the Morgan County Rescue Squad.
He and his crew provided two divers at the scene of the drowning in Lawrence County where they found 17-year-old Gabriel Alonzo and his uncle 36-year-old Julio Chich Alvarez.
With three drownings happening this past weekend in North Alabama and southern Tennessee, Kelso shares some life saving methods.
"If you can’t swim and you witness someone drowning, you know I just recommend if you have a throw-device, you have a life ring, you have any kind of floating device that you can throw to them reach to them and then try to pull them back in," said Kelso.
He urges you to call 911 immediately so law enforcement can assist you. But you'll also need to also stay alert.
"Try to maintain a visual of the location with the person goes under. That’s another big issue when you get into rivers, creeks, and even big lakes is the water isn’t clear like rock, quarries and pools," said Kelso.
If you do know how to swim and you take it upon yourself to rescue an individual drowning, Kelso says this next step is urgent.
"You want to begin CPR and roll them over on their side and try to get that water out of their lungs. You dialing 911, they will talk you through the steps of how to begin CPR while responders are coming to your aid," he said.
Kelso also mentioned, no matter how good of a swimmer you are, he believes when out in the water like lakes, rivers and ponds, you should always wear a life jacket.
