Irvine baby who drowned in family’s pool is identified; German shepherd tried to save him

A 9-month-old Irvine baby who drowned Saturday in his family’s backyard pool has been identified as Jace Carlton, authorities said.

The child was taken to Hoag Hospital and later pronounced dead.

The boy’s mother couldn’t find him after he slipped unnoticed from the home, said Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi. She ran to the backyard and saw him underwater at the family’s home in the 50 block of Carver, Concialdi said.

It appeared that the family’s German shepherd tried to pull the child from the water but was unsuccessful, Concialdi said.

The mother called 911, and Irvine police and paramedics initiated CPR and other measures to try to save the baby’s life, Concialdi said.

This year, the Fire Authority has received 25 calls about water-related accidents, and 14 have resulted in fatalities, Concialdi said. In the past 30 days, seven children in Orange County have drowned, and in six of those cases there was no fencing to prevent a child from slipping into a pool, he said.

On June 1, also in Irvine, an 8-year-old boy was taken to a hospital after being pulled from a community pool.

Bystanders performed rescue breathing techniques on the unconscious boy, who eventually coughed up water.

A similar incident occurred in Irvine on May 6 when a 5-year-old boy was hospitalized after being pulled from his family’s backyard pool.

“Children see a pool as play time,” Concialdi said. “They’re used to being in a bathtub where they’re safe and they don’t realize the danger of jumping in, especially if they don’t know how to swim. Parents need to know the ABCs of safety – active supervision, barriers and instruction in CPR.”

Pool safety tips

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission offers these tips for keeping children safe around residential pools:

• Always watch children when they are in or near a pool or spa.

• Learn how to swim and teach your children how to swim.

• Learn to perform CPR and update your skills regularly.

• Keep children away from pool drains, pipes and other openings to prevent them from becoming trapped.

• If a child is missing, look for him or her in the pool or spa first.

• Share safety instructions with family, friends and neighbors.

• Create a pool safety kit for your pool or spa containing a first-aid kit, a flotation device, a pair of scissors to cut hair, clothing or a pool cover, and a charged mobile phone to call 911.

• Install a 4-foot or taller fence around the pool and spa and use self-closing and self-latching gates.

• Use a lockable safety cover on your spa.

• Keep pool and spa covers in good working order.

• Install alarms or guards on doors and windows facing a pool or spa.

• Install pool and gate alarms to alert you when children go near the water.

For more information, visit https://www.poolsafely.govhttps://www.poolsafely.gov.

Rivera writes for the Los Angeles Times. Staff writers Jeremiah Dobruck and Rob Vardon contributed to this report.