Father invents drowning prevention tool for children

PUNTA GORDA, Fla.- A terrifying experience involving his son at a beach inspired Russell Rusakov from Charlotte County to invent a device that could save children from drowning.

“My own son, at 5 years old, I looked away for a moment and he went into the ocean,” Rusakov said.

Rusakov’s son was saved by a lifeguard after nearly drowning off the coast of New Jersey. To help prevent other families from suffering similar circumstances, Rusakov created a device that warns parents if a child is in trouble.

“Since I’ve retired, it’s been my life’s work to find a device that was going to be able to prevent children from drowning,” Rusakov said.

The idea is simple: if the device gets wet, an alarm will go off on your cell phone.

“It will continue to do that until you either shut the phone off or find the child,” Rusakov explained.

The device wraps around the child’s wrist and is locked in place with a key. There’s also a button the child can push if they’re in danger.

“I want to make sure that we protect our children, and we help our children become safe and secure.”

The Florida Department of Health says the Sunshine State leads the nation when it comes to children drowning under the age of 5.

Rusakov hopes his simple bracelet will help turn those numbers around.