As the summer heat creates more opportunities for kids to cool off at a local pool this summer, Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan and 5-time Olympic gold medalist Ryan Murphy hosted an event Wednesday emphasizing the importance of water safety.

According to the Jacksonville Beach Ocean Rescue 2024 Year in Review, 74 missing people were reunited last year, slightly up from 70 in 2023.

If you’re planning to take your kids swimming in a lake or river this summer, it’s important to make sure you’re being careful. There have been multiple water rescues reported recently. And sadly, drownings as well.

Are you heading to the pool this Memorial Day weekend? If you’re bringing children along, you want to create a plan to keep them safe around the water.

Before the Fourth of July holiday, 60 drownings were reported at Florida beaches.

Ocean Rescue officials want Floridians to avoid becoming part of the statistic by brushing up on water safety guidelines before the July 4th holiday weekend. "We're expecting larger crowds, about typical holiday type crowds," said Captain Zachary Houston, Ocean Rescue at Hannah Park. This rainwater can drain into the swim area, making the water cloudier. Creeks and StreamsCreeks and streams often contain harmful germs and may not be monitored for water quality. Once you are in the swim area

CPSCs new data shows residential locations, such as a childs home, a family or friends house or a neighbors residence, made up 71 percent of the reported fatal drowning incidents. There were, on average, 379 reported pool-or-spa-related fatal drownings per year for 2015 through 2017, involving children younger than 15 years old. Our latest report confirms that most child drownings take place at home during the summer months. I urge everyone to take critical safety steps to reverse the upward trend in fatal child drownings," said CPSC Acting Chairman Robert Adler. Child drownings remain the leading cause of unintentional death among children ages 1 to 4 years old.

The importance of water safety this summerPublished: May 29, 2020, 8:37 amNow that some pools will begin opening, we want to remind you about the number one killer of young children, which is drowning. Cindy Dennis with Safe Kids Northeast Florida joins us on The Morning Show to talk about water safety this summer.