By Rachel Paula Abrahamson -
TODAY
An Oklahoma family is in mourning after their 18-month-old twins drowned in their backyard pool.
Her mother, Jenny Callazzo, says she discovered her children Locklyn and Loreli Callazzo in the water on the morning of March 16, according to Oklahoma City Fire Chief Scott Douglas.
When emergency crews arrived on the scene, they found the children on the ground, and immediately began tending to them, but their hearts had stopped beating, according to Douglas.
Locklyn and Loreli were taken to a hospital, where they were certified dead.
Loreli and Locklyn Callazzo.GoFundMe
“The mother explained that she was homeschooling an older child while the younger ones were playing in the living room,” Douglas told NBC's TODAY show, “Grandma left the back door open, allowing easy access to the pool.
The mother stated that the longest they could be in the pool was 10 minutes."
According to Douglas, there was no protective fence around the pool.
Residential swimming pools in Oklahoma must be surrounded by a fence that is a minimum of four feet, or 48 inches, high.
The law also requires self-closing security gates.
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The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all home pools be surrounded by a fence to prevent children from entering them without adult supervision.
It warns that "there is no substitute for a fence at least four feet, non-climbable, four-sided, and with a self-closing gate."
Valerie Littlejohn, captain of the local Police Department, told TODAY that the investigation into the deaths "is still open."
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The twins' godmother, Dawn Lemon, told TODAY that they were “never apart, ever.
They did not want separate chairs.
They wanted to sleep together.
You never saw one without the other."
Locklyn loved music and played the harmonica, according to Lemon, while Loreli was a born dancer and "thought she was so much older than she was."
“They were the sweetest babies,” she said, “they liked to play hide-and-seek behind the curtains.
They were shouting 'Where are we?'
and the little toes stuck out.
They didn't realize we could see them."
They had four other siblings, including 17-year-old twins.
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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children ages 1 to 4.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, each year there are about 300 drownings of children under 5 years of age in swimming pools.
Olympic skier Bode Miller and his wife, Morgan, lost their 19-month-old daughter, Emmy, to the same circumstances in 2018. Since then, the couple have made it their mission to promote pool safety and swim lessons for children.