Valley family warns of swimming pool danger

PHOENIX - Elisa Hart's life changed on March 6, 2010 when her son, Eric, slipped out through a doggie door and fell into the family's backyard pool.

Thursday afternoon, she and her husband, Justin, stood beside Valley first responders spreading a message to keep kids safe around water.

"Educate yourselves and do everything you can not to be put into the situation my family has been put into," she said.

Already this year, 12 Valley children have died in water-related incidents. Backyard pools, bath tubs, and canals can be killers.

"We have lost enough children to drownings to fill a big part of this cemetery," said Phoenix Fire Deputy Chief Frank Saloman.

The Harts have harnessed their pain, now sharing their agony with others.

"I don't care if I have to cry every day for the rest of my life, but it's worth it. Parents don't bury their children. Children bury their parents. It's not right, it's not fair," said Justin Hart.

They speak often about the tragic passing, and describe how it has altered their lives.

"His twin brother is going into kindergarten. Both would be five-years-old, going through the same things, learning the same things, and it hurts because I know that he wants to experience that with his brother, and I know he can't," said Elisa Hart.