SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Firefighters from multiple cities in the East Valley spent Saturday morning distributing bags filled with information and items designed to prevent drownings.

The event was called "Walk for Water" and was a joint effort between city fire departments in the East Valley, Banner Children's Hospital at Banner Desert Medical Center and SRP Safety Connection.

The goal was to reach thousands of Valley homes and help them learn prevention techniques.

Included in the bag was a lifeguard whistle. The idea of the whistle is that whoever is in possession of it must be monitoring what's happening in the pool.

"You must have adult supervision," Lori Schmidt, president of the Drowning Coalition of Arizona, said. "You need to have barriers around the pool. And you need to know CPR."

According to Schmidt, children under the age of five are the most likely group of people to drown. She added that drownings happen most on weekends or holidays, often during the dinner hour when adults are most distracted.

Mike Tellef, spokesman for the Peoria Fire Department, added that a lack adult supervision is the most prevalent cause of almost all drownings.

"You need to have somebody who is doing nothing but watching the people in the water," Tellef said.

Among the prevention tools that Tellef suggests are: a fence around the pool, locks on any doors that lead to the pool, flotation devices and swimming lessons for children.

Those are additional prevention tools and should not be used as a substitute for adult supervision, Tellef added.

"Drowning is 100 percent preventable," Tellef said.

In 2008, there were 153 water-related incidents in Maricopa County, Tellef said. In those incidents, 33 adults and 16 kids lost their lives.