Emergency calls related to drownings have been on the rise of late in Polk County, with nearly 80% of the incidents over the past year involving children ages 1 through 9, according to data provided by Polk County Fire Rescue.
But despite the county’s largest city wearing a name like Lakeland, it’s not natural bodies of water where the majority of these 911 drowning calls are coming from.
“It’s (swimming) pools,” said the county’s Fire Chief Robert Weech.
Between Jan. 1 and April 30, emergency dispatchers responded to 18 drowning calls – the most in that timeframe in a four-year span.
There were 49 calls in 2020 compared with 42 calls in 2019. And while not all of these calls resulted in fatalities, Polk ranked near the top in 2019 in drowning deaths statewide.
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13 private waste haulers fear Polk County is trying to push them out
New state law would make it more expensive for a county or city to contract with private companies for trash collection
When it comes to commercial trash pickup in unincorporated Polk County, 13 companies work across 1,678 square miles to haul garbage from a variety of retailers and restaurants.
While the county has a contract with two companies to handle residential waste collection one for east Polk, one for west it doesn’t have as much control or regulation over trash that comes from businesses.
Is it time for that to change?