SAN JUAN COUNTY, N.M. – With the weather heating up and summer break right around the corner, children will be spending more time outside.

But, there could be a danger in your yard that first responders want you to know about. 

“Anytime it’s a child death, it’s hard on first responders. Due to the graphic nature of this incident. It really hit home, and it’s certainly a call that I’ll never forget. It hurts, it hurts a lot,” said San Juan County Fire and Rescue Chief David Vega. 

That 2018 call for a missing child is now a yearly warning from San Juan County Fire and Rescue about the dangers of unsecured septic tanks. 

“Over the course of several minutes being on scene, we found the child’s footprints. We followed those children’s footprints to an unsecured septic tank,” said Vega. “They are often big and green. So for a child, that represents a toy that might be attractive to go and play with. So children may start to jump up and down those lids, and if that lid is not secured properly, or if it becomes brittle from weather, that lid can now open up, and that child goes into that septic tank vault. We’ve also seen pets fall into septic tank vaults. We’ve even had adults fall into septic tank vaults.”

Most people living in rural parts of San Juan County use septic tanks, and the only part you see is the lid that covers the vault. It’s not something you want to fall into because underneath is solid waste and wastewater.

“So, especially if you’re a child who doesn’t know how to swim, there’s a high likelihood that that child is going to drown in that septic tank vault,” Vega said. 

Since 2018, SJCFR has responded to five of these situations.

“The way those vaults are designed, if you fall in there’s not an easy way to self-evacuate,” said Vega. 

There are some items that can help someone from falling all the way in a septic tank, but Vega says it’s preventable with one simple solution.

“Know where those are on your property. Mark them, make sure that the lids are secured, and those lids cannot be manipulated in a manner that can be removed,” said Vega.