‘Drownings are silent’: Johnstown organization teaches the importance of water safety

As the temperatures warm up and we prepare for summer, more and more people will be around water. This could mean anything from pools to lakes. However, this also means there is an increased risk of drowning deaths.

A new report from the CDC highlights the all too common problem. It shows more than 4,500 people died from drowning each year from 2020-2022 in the United States. This is 500 more compared to 2019.

“It’s 11 deaths per day in the United States,” Rickey Price, team leader of the Cambria County Swift Water Rescue Team, said. “Worldwide it’s 40 every hour. There are more deaths in drowning than in fatal fires. So why aren’t we educating the children and the families on the importance of water safety?”

Drownings are also the leading cause of death in children ages 1-4.

“Drownings are silent,” Price said. “So we should educate kids about floating on your backs, wearing a life jacket, but also show parents how important this is.”

Charlie and Jamie Nagle are now sharing an important message to others. A message that stems from a nightmare they wish they never had to go through.

In the blink of an eye, their family’s life changed forever when their four-year-old son drowned.

“There are still questions today,” Charlie explained. “And we’ll never know those answers.”

To know the Nagle’s mission, you have to first know their son, Eastin Charles. His parents said he was always helping.

“He always loved to help,” Charlie expressed. “I have some really great pictures of when we were building a deck for the swimming pool and he had his toll belt on, his hard hat on and he was ready to work all the time.”

Eastin and his twin brother were born on July 1, 2016.

In June 2020, just a couple weeks shy of their 4th birthday, Eastin was found in the swimming pool by his then 13-year-old sister and 10-year-old brother. They immediately began CPR and got a pulse back.

“Not only did we get four additional days, but he saved three other lives,” Charlie said. “His organs were able to make a full recovery. His heart went to a 1-year-old in Michigan. His liver went to a 4-year-old in New York. His pancreas, kidneys and intestines went as a package to a 31-year-old female in New York.”

Even in his final days, he was still helping people.

Not much time went by before the Nagle family turned pain into purpose. By August 2020, they started the Eastin Charles Foundation with three goals. Teach free CPR to kids under 18, provide free swimming lessons and teach water safety awareness and education.

“Water safety is very important,” Price said. “At any time something can happen.”

Central PA has seen the tragedy of losing people too soon because of a drowning. Just in the month of May, we lost a high school student and a toddler.

An accidental drowning can happen to anyone at any time and prevention is key.

The CDC highlights the importance of learning basic swimming and water safety skills, building fences that fully enclose pools, supervising closely, wearing a life jacket, learning CPR and knowing the risks of natural waters.

“What we’re teaching parents and kids is something important,” Jamie expressed. “This is not a joke.”

The Nagle family will continue working with schools and area programs to help stop tragedy from striking.

Four years later, they’ll never be able to fully recover from the pain of losing their son, but they’re able to make positive changes in his memory.

“I don’t want any other parents to have to live with this nightmare,” Charlie said. “All we can do is just say, hey, if we can prevent one family from going through this tragedy, then we are doing what Eastin would want us to do.”

For the little boy who loved to help, there is no better honor.

The Nagle’s say it is never too early to start swimming lessons and there are actually programs for infants, called Infant Swimming Resource (ISR). Jamie’s goal for 2025 is to become an ISR instructor.

The family also asks any non-profit organization interested in free CPR lessons for kids to reach out to the organization. They also encourage any public pool or YMCA who wants to give out free swimming lessons to contact them.