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Pool safety demands year-round vigilance

By Tim Brust
Special to the Times

According to the U.S. Product Safety Commission, about 300 young children die each year in residential swimming pool accidents.

Thousands of others require emergency treatment because of submersion in pools.

Experts maintain that in many of the cases, simple safety precautions could have prevented those accidents.

A study conducted by the Product Safety Commission found that in two out of three swimming pool accidents, the victims were not expected to be in the pool and had been missing for five minutes or less before being found drowned or submerged in the water.

It recommends securing the pool with some sort of childproof barrier and placing alarms on gates and doors that allow access the pool.

A wooden, vinyl or metal fence at least 4 feet high is recommended for the pool area.

The fence can be permanent or, if preferred, temporary.

Debbie Powell, owner of Pool Masters of Vienna, in Vienna, W.Va., said pool owners can install removable child fencing if they don’t want the fence up through the entire swimming season. It uses aluminum fence posts.

“We drill holes in the deck and put it around the pool,” she said.

The fence can be easily taken up when it’s not needed.

Powell said other products use lasers and sensors to warn pool owners when anything, including a child, approaches the pool.

“You have a remote (monitor) inside the house when it goes off,” she said.
Another type of device floats on the surface of the water and alerts the homeowner when something disturbs the surface of the water.

“It’s something every pool should have,” said Chris Day, owner of Discount Pool Supplies in Parkersburg.

Day said the alarm has varying levels of sensitivity so that something light, such as a beach ball, wouldn’t set it off, but something such as a small child would.

Day also recommends that life rings, a throw line and a long pole called a shepherd’s crook be close by in case of emergency.

Powell said other safety precautions should be observed when anyone uses a pool. For instance, diving is not recommended in pools less than 8 feet deep.
It’s also important that the deep end of a pool have a light on at night so divers can see the bottom.

Childproofing your pool is as important during cold weather months as it is during the time it is being used for swimming. Powell said a safety cover stretched across the entire pool keeps anything from falling in by accident.

When the safety cover is in place, you can walk right over it. When the pool is obscured by snow, anyone not familiar with the exact location of the pool is still protected.

Experts point out that drownings or injuries can take place in a short amount of time and in water as shallow as a few inches. They say there is no substitute for constant supervision and recommend training in CPR in case of emergency.