Derek Frechette said his son was not wearing a life vest when he went swimming at a town beach in Sturbridge in 2007 and drowned.
Derek Frechette of Sturbridge, standing in the middle, advocated at the Statehouse for a bill to help prevent drownings of children. To the left in the photo is Dorothy Drago, a director of the Drowning Prevention Foundation, and to the right is Cheryl Bartlett, a director at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.BOSTON — Derek R. Frechette says he is haunted by the drowning of his 4-year-old son five years ago and hopes that other parents can avoid similar tragedies.
Frechette, 42, an electrical engineer, came to Beacon Hill on Thursday to advocate for passage of "Christian's bill."
The bill, named after his son, would require boards of health to approve rules to require recreational camps to test minors at the start of the season for their swimming skills and to have life jackets available for children who can't swim or who lack enough skills. It would also require camps to accept a life jacket from a parent who feels that a child should have the safety device.
"I still have nightmares that he is in the water calling me and saying, 'Daddy, why didn't you save me?' " Frechette told reporters.
Frechette pushed for his bill on the same day Gov. Deval L. Patrick honored the tragic death of a Sutton teenager by signing a bill that requires school districts to approve medical response plans to respond to life-threatening emergencies. The new law is named after Michael Ellsessar, 16, who suffered cardiac arrest while playing junior varsity high school football in November 2010 at Quaboag Regional High School in Warren.
Frechette said his son, Christian E. Frechette, did not have a life jacket when he went swimming at the summer camp run by the Sturbridge Recreation Department. He was later found in 3 feet of water near a dock on the pond.
Frechette became choked up with tears during a press conference to advocate for the bill.
"It will save some kids this year," he said of the bill, which is being carried by a Western Massachusetts legislator whose brother drowned in a childhood accident. "It will. That's all I want to do."
Christian E. FrechetteFrechette said he had life jackets for his two sons when he brought them to Cedar Lake in July 2007.
Frechette said a staff member told him that children were banned from having life vests or water toys. He said there were 30 children and eight lifeguards at the camp and he relied on the staff member. Frechette left and later learned from authorities that his son had drowned.
"I don't think they did anything wrong," he said of Sturbridge officials. "They went by what was the law. I don't blame a person. I just trusted. I didn't think."
Shaun Suhoski, town administrator in Sturbridge, declined to comment on Frechette's assertions about his son being prohibited from wearing a life jacket. Suhoski said there was a settlement between the town and the family.
The town now has a station with life jackets available for all swimmers at its beach on Cedar Lake, he said.
Suhoski said town officials have no formal position on the bill but any efforts to improve safety for children are to be applauded. Parents also have to be responsible and should determine if their children need a life jacket, he added.
The sponsor of the bill, Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, a Barre Democrat, said the issue affects him personally. Brewer said he felt the anguish of the Frechettes because his brother, Max, was also 4 years old when he drowned at the family's farm pond in Charlton.
Brewer said his mother was hanging clothes on an outside line and turned her back for an instant before her son drowned.
Brewer said nothing can bring back Frechette's son, but legislators can move forward and attempt to make swimming areas safe. "I know it is the right thing to do," said Brewer, who is chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
The Senate in November voted 36-0 to approve the bill. The legislation is pending in the state House of Representatives, where it received initial approval in February.
Frechette said he and his wife, Christina, have "five children, including Christian, and a sixth on the way." He and his wife have started a nonprofit organization to provide life jackets to all children at all camps, lakes, beaches and town run pools in the state, said Frechette, who attended the Statehouse event with his mother, Janet Frechette of Stoneham.
Patrick signed a proclamation declaring May as "drowning awareness month." Patrick said drowning is the leading cause of unintentional death of children, particularly those 5 years old and younger.
During a separate ceremony, the governor said he was proud to sign “Michael’s Law,” which was filed in response to the death of Ellsessar.
A spokesman for the Worcester District Attorney's office has said a referee at the game attempted CPR on Ellsessar before he was taken by ambulance to Mary Lane Hospital in Ware, where he was pronounced dead.
Under the law, schools will now be required to put into effect several steps in addition to already-mandated evacuation plans for certain hazards.
The medical response plans will require a method and protocols for establishing fast communications, a list of important contacts, ways to direct emergency medical services, safety procedures for preventing injuries, ways to provide access to CPR and other training in first aid and the locations of defibrillators and people who are trained to use them.