Management Company Investigates Near-drowning at Local Pool

The pool management company that serves more than 400 accounts in the area, including Westgate Community Pool in Manassas where  has conducted an investigation into the incident.

Continental Pools, Inc. Vice President Nick Terrebrood said the company has completed its investigation, which found that the lifeguards on duty were doing what they were supposed to be doing.

"We interviewed staff and witnesses...the lifeguards were in position," Terrebrood said. 

Terrebrood said the lifeguards were rotating or "switching chairs" around the time the near-drowning occurred, which is something he says is procedure to keep the lifeguards vigilant.

"Anyone who sits for a long period of time is likely to become less vigilant, so it is important to us that they [the lifeguards] rotate every 15 minutes to remain vigilant," Terrebrood said.

He said there was no one who witnessed the 4-year-old girl at the bottom of the the shallow end of the pool (about two feet of water) or how long she was under water in a passive state of drowning.

"No one can tell us what the incident looked like when it happened," Terrebrood said. "What we do know is the lifeguards on duty were either in their chair or on the way to their chair...they were not in the office eating pizza," he said.

He said the lifeguards recalled seeing the little girl playing in the water and saw her being pulled out of the water by the other little girl.

"That's when the lifeguards stepped into action and help get the girl out of the water and perform the proper procedure to bring her back," Terrebrood said.

"This story has a happy ending," he said. "Other swimmers are usually the first to recognize distress and it's amazing that this 9-year-old girl stepped in and helped save the little girl's life."

Terrebrood said without a witness's account of the situation, it is hard to determine exactly what happened.

"What we do know is it takes an adult about 45 seconds to go from an active drowning state to a passive drowning state, but its hard to say with a 4-year-old in two feet of water," Terrebrood said. "Kids enjoy seeing how long they can hold their breath under water, they actually make a game out of this."

Prince William County Police said the older girl pulled the unresponsive girl from the bottom of a Manassas pool, assisting lifeguards in saving her life. The incident occurred on June 26 at the pool located along Ashland Avenue in Prince William County.

Police said Giovanna Emperatr Naravez, 23, left her five children, including the 4-year-old girl, unattended in the pool while she went to the front desk to sign in a guest. in connection with her three youngest children being left unattended because they are the ones who needed the most supervision.

Terrebrood said the biggest issue his lifeguards and company faces is parents thinking lifeguards dissolve the parents of responsibility to watch their children.

He said Continental puts safety above all, and the company has lost business because of the tough stance they take with safety. He said Continental has a wonderful relationship with Westgate Community pool, but it is a very busy pool and everyone needs to remain vigilant, including parents.