An Ancaster family has asked for privacy after their 2½-year-old toddler drowned in their back yard pool on the weekend.

Neighbours rallied around the family and refused to speak to media Sunday, a day after police and ambulance were called to the Stowbridge Cres. home to investigate the incident.

The Spectator has decided not to publish the name of the child or his parents.

Police have released few details of the tragedy, although they say the little boy apparently made his way to the back yard during his father’s afternoon nap.

It appears the father had worked an evening shift the night before and had been busy looking after the children in the morning, said Staff Sergeant Ian Matthews. “He may have taken a nap and the little boy unlocked the back door and ended up in the swimming pool.”

Police believe the boy was in the pool for a couple of minutes before the father found him and pulled him out. He was transported to hospital and pronounced dead at about 3 p.m.

The Hamilton police homicide unit was called to the scene in accordance with provincial regulations that require all sudden deaths of children to be investigated by major crimes units.

An autopsy report on Sunday confirmed the drowning.

The incident, which is at least the sixth back yard pool drowning reported in the Hamilton area since 1993, has focused attention on safety precautions and the supervision of children around residential swimming areas.

Drowning is the second-leading cause of preventable death for children under 10 years of age. Almost half of child drownings occur in back yard pools and mostly during a short time when they are not being watched, according to the city’s website.

Despite those numbers, the Spectator was unable to find any news reports on Ontario inquests into back yard pool drownings in the past 20 years.

Dr. Roger Skinner, the regional supervising coroner for eastern Ontario, Kingston office, said he does not recall any such inquests, but said he did not have access to the information over the weekend. (Coincidentally, Skinner finished an Ottawa inquest two weeks ago into a public pool drowning.)

Inquests are required when deaths occur in custody, on construction projects, in mines and for the deaths of children under specific circumstances involving parental visitation rights, Skinner said. “Outside of that, inquests are discretionary and are called when the circumstances are not clear or when there are issues of public safety that the chief coroner feels that we need to explore.”

Hamilton fire public information officer Dave Christopher stresses that children need constant supervision around the pool. “A lot of it is just common sense, making sure the gate to the pool is locked, not allowing children to go out without supervision. Vigilance is key.”

Even with a small inflatable pool, a toddler just learning to walk can fall in — and just an inch of water is enough for a child to drown.

And, he said, people need to remember that pool owners are responsible for whoever is swimming in their pool, not just their own kids.

“If you have a birthday party or invite the neighbour kids over, you automatically assume liability for those children. They are your responsibility.”

City bylaws require pool owners to have a four-foot-11 fence with a self-locking, childproof gate around any yard containing a pool. The bylaw does not require a fence between the owner’s house and the pool — a requirement safety officials say could prevent seven out of 10 drownings of children under five.

In terms of prevention, Christopher stressed the importance of drownproofing kids. “Get them in swimming lessons as soon as possible,” he said.

An important thing for everyone, not just parents, to remember, is that drowning does not look the way it does in the movies. Kids do not scream and flail around.

“It’s typically silent, and it can happen very quickly,” said Tanya Elliott, director of communications for Red Cross Ontario. “It’s not something that will necessarily catch your attention.”

She, too, advocates the importance of four-sided fencing.

“Cutting off access from the back of the house, that’s something that we would recommend as a safety tip.”

“Our hearts at the Red Cross certainly go out to that family.