It’s beautiful, and it can be deadly. Water surrounds us, but water safety isn’t routinely taught to the youngest and most vulnerable among us. April Pool’s Day is meant to change that. The annual mix of safety lessons, free swim time, and incentives including raffles and treats happened at pools all over King County today, including Seattle Parks’ Southwest Pool in West Seattle. Toward the end of the free family event, lifeguards taught a round of boating safety, above. At poolside, we met someone with a special reason for pride in what was happening:

That’s Tony Gomez, who manages the violence and injury prevention program for the Seattle-King County Public Health Department, and organized April Pool’s Day almost a quarter-century ago. He said it was inspired by a desire to recognize those who had saved lives – and then became a way to teach safety to those who could learn to save themselves. We talked about how this time of year – the first warm, sunny days – always brings the risk, and sometimes the reality, of deadly tragedy, especially in our area’s fast-moving, chilly river waters, far more treacherous than they appear. Today’s events focused on cold-water awareness, lifejacket use and promotion, and basic water rescue. If someone in your family doesn’t know how to swim – it’s never too soon, or too late, to start. April Pool’s Day is a reminder of that.

Information on lessons and swim sessions at SW Pool is here.