Understimating the problem: drowning deaths are seriously in the U.S.--and everyone pays the price.(Perspectives)(faulty reporting of accidents and lack of funding)

Every year, according to statistics, roughly the same number of people die in drowning accidents as fires. Yet drowning-prevention programs receive just a fraction of the billions of dollars dedicated to fire prevention.

There are numerous reasons for this disparity, the entrenched nature of fire departments among them.

But there's another, even more basic, reason that the entire industry must address: Drowning deaths are grossly underestimated in this country.

The Centers for Disease Control reports that approximately 4,000 individuals drown in the United States each year. The CDC also says that over a 10-year period, the annual drowning rate may be declining slightly. Not only is that first figure significantly underestimated, but the number of drowning deaths also is likely increasing, not decreasing.

Here are a few reasons why:

* Individuals who die from a submersion event after a hospitalization period of 24 hours or more are not usually reported as "drownings. Instead, they are noted as "secondary" drowning fatalities and consequently are eliminated from the drowning record.

* Sometimes, when a vehicle plunges into the water and the victim dies, he or she may be noted as an auto fatality rather than a drowning fatality, despite the lack of trauma wounds indicating otherwise.