MIAMI – It took seconds for a girl to find an outdoor decorative water fountain to play with.
The game would nearly kill the child. A surveillance video captured the child climbing up to the edge and falling inside. The child struggled in the water for about 2 minutes until a boy reacted. A woman pulled the child out alive.
Recommended Videos
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue spokesman Arnold Piedrahita shared the viral video Monday in his personal Facebook. In the past month, five children under the age of three have drowned in Miami-Dade and Broward, he said.
"If me posting this video scares someone enough to ... install a pool gate then my job is done," Piedrahita posted on Facebook.
Kids can drown in a tub. And in Florida, the summer heat means more drowning deaths in backyard pools. Piedrahita is one of many concerned parents who have shared the surveillance video since it became public last year.
Girl nearly drowns in fountain
Piedrahita said drowning is the main cause of death of children under the age of two in Florida. He recommends parents get a pool fence, and only unlock it when they are "physically in the pool."
Piedrahita said that in the majority of child drownings adults were nearby.
"I ran on a 13 month old boy who drowned in the family pool with 11 adults home at [the] time," Piedrahita posted. "Everyone thought someone was watching the baby."