Instant action by adults at a pool party on Tuesday spared a Saanich family from a summer of grief.
Personnel from Saanich Police, Saanich Fire and Emergency Health Services responded to a report just after 3 p.m. that a five-year-old boy had been pulled from a backyard pool in the 4300 block of Lochside Drive.
The boy did not surface after going down a slide into the water, said Saanich Police Staff-Sgt. Chris Horsley.
Fortunately, the pool was being monitored closely by several adults and a woman managed to pull the boy out of the pool within seconds, where he was immediately attended to by an off-duty Victoria firefighter who was a guest at the home.
The boy was semi-conscious when he was taken to hospital, and appears well on the way to a full recovery, Horsley told the Saanich News Wednesday.
“It underlines the importance of supervising children at all times when they’re playing near pools or local beaches,” Horsley said.
The incident also shows how quickly a tragedy can unfold and that it can only take a few seconds for something tragic to happen that can have devastating impact, Horsley noted
“It’s very fortunate that in this case it appears a tragedy was averted by quick action and adult supervision,” he added.