ST. GEORGE -- With the hot weather, a lot of people, especially kids, will be enjoying fun in the water over these next few months. However, with that comes the increased chance of drowning, as seen with the tragic death of a four-year-old in Zachary Monday night.

According to the Louisiana Department of Health, Louisiana has the second highest drowning rate in the United States for children. It's the third leading cause of death among kids ages one through 14.

With many public pools around Louisiana set to open around Memorial Day, WBRZ spoke to some local water rescue experts from the St. George Fire Protection District's Special Operations Division.

"Do not swim alone. Whether you're a child, whether you're an adult, whether you're an experienced swimmer, it doesn't matter. Things can happen," St. George Fire Protection Public Information Officer Meg Kling said.

According to the LDH, 40 percent of drownings happen at swimming pools.

St. George Fire Department says one of the most important things an adult can be doing is watching. LDH says 57 percent of the children who drown had no adult supervision.

"The biggest thing is also to learn CPR. That doesn't mean every single person needs to go out and get a CPR certification at this very moment, all you can do is go online and look at a hands-only CPR video," Kling said.

Organizations like the Red Cross offer classes teaching CPR. St. George says they tend to get calls involving people who are unprepared to intervene if someone is drowning.

"You need to put them on their left side, you need to do back blows if you think there's water in their airway," Kling said.

If they don't have a pulse, administer CPR until crews arrive.

"Our people are getting there within five minutes, EMS is getting there within 5-10 minutes, you've got help coming, so if you can do compressions for those first couple of minutes just to keep things moving," Kling said.

In some situations, there may only be kids there.

"You're home alone, you're 10-13 years old and your younger sibling goes in there, and you are not equipped for this, three feet of water, somebody else frantically pulling, can pull you under," Kling said.

The best thing to do is to call 911. After doing so, another good course of action is to locate the long rescue pole and point the hook part towards the person in the water so they can grab on, then pull them to the side. It's best to lean back to avoid being pulled into the water.

The Special Operations division says they see an increase in rescues during the summer months.

"We have five personnel within the special operations division and St. George fire protection district that are on the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office dive team, so they will be deployed throughout the parish and be able to be deployed within our area also," Special Operations Division Batallion Chief Kyle Shuford said.

The rescue team says they can be in the water in just two to three minutes after they arrive and can last around 10 minutes up to about 20 feet in the water with their gear like goggles, fins, and a snorkel.

St. George says adults should always make sure that everyone has their life jackets. It's best to make sure the life jacket has been approved by the U.S. Coast Guard. St. George says if you own a pool, you should always make sure the gates are locked so no one can get in unsupervised.