Kids dive into water safety in Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Summer is right around the corner for Valley school children, which means time outdoors and around water, and that can be dangerous.

First grade students listened in to some important swim safety lessons at the ninth annual May Day Safety Fair on Friday. Children's Hospital put on the event and says this year there have already been 15 water-related injuries, some of them fatal.

"Be aware that Memorial Day weekend, it is an absolute statistic. We will have at least one water-related injury this weekend, and in some circumstances it's going to be one where the child is going to have a fatal outcome, so we need to make sure we have adult supervision," said Mary Jo Quintero, an organizer of the event.

Parents, like Sharon Sanchez, say the information helps to reinforce what she already teaches her children.

"As a child I almost drowned, and so for me to watch my kids not go through what I went through or my parents went through is very important," said Sanchez. "So any parent that has a pool, lakes, anything like that, stay with your kids; they could be gone that fast."

Her young son Matthew also picked up some information from the event.

"It's safe to wait for an adult because if you don't wait for an adult, you might drown," he said.

Dozens of other booths were set up to teach kids important safety lessons, like what to do when you call 911.

There was also hands-on learning for these young students. And Air George, along with the CHP and LifeFlight made a visit as well.

Organizers hope these first graders will take away many lessons from the May Day Safety Fair, but they know just one can help save their lives.

The Water Safety Council also donated $2,000 to the Fresno Parks and Recreation Department to pay for swimming lessons for underprivileged kids.