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Community Corner

Pool Safety Tips to Keep You and Yours Safe

We are in the last third of the summer season, but swimming pools are still extremely exciting places to hang out. Heed these safety tips to ensure an accident-free pool experience.

It only takes seconds for a person to drown in a swimming pool. As of late May 2011, there have been 118 pool and spa incidents involving drowning and near-drowning according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

The commission is in the second year of its Pool Safety Campaign which is designed to reduce child drownings and nonfatal submersion and entrapment incidents in pools and spas. The campaign was developed out of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (P&SS Act).

CPSC's statistics show:

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  • Annually, there was an average of 383 drownings for children less than 15 years old from 2006 to 2008 and 76 percent of the reported fatalities were children younger than five.
  • An average of 5,100 pool or spa related ER visits for children younger than 15 occurred each year from 2008 to 2010, with children younger than five representing 79 percent.
  • Statistics show that 96 percent of victims involved in a submersion accident will die. 

To look at these statistics is to see that water safety must remain a serious concern for anyone around water; be it a pool, spa, lake, pond or bathtub. Even smaller bodies of water such as a bucket, toilet, or dog water dish have been the cause of child drownings.

According to the P&SS Act, of injury-related deaths, drowning is the second leading cause of death in children aged 1 to 14 in the United States; therefore it is imperative to follow these water safety tips:

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  • Pool alarms: Gate, door, window or floating wave alarms should sound for :30 seconds or more and be at least 85 decibels when measured 10 feet away from the alarm.
  • Barriers: Physical obstacles that surround a pool or spa such as fences, walls or gates are very helpful to deter accidents. Fences should be at least 4-feet high or taller and have no footholds or handholds. Vertical slats should be less than 4-inches apart. Diamond chain link openings should be no more than 1-3/4 inches and the bottom of all barriers should not exceed 4-inches above ground.
  • Gates should open out from the pool and should be self-closing and self-latching with the release mechanism at least 3-inches below the top on the side facing the pool. Gates should also have no opening greater than 1/2 inch within 18-inches of the latch release to prevent kids from releasing the latch.
  • Safety covers should withstand the weight of two adults and one child to allow rescue if someone falls onto the cover and should be able to be easily removed to respond to emergencies.
  • Steps of the ladder should be at least 3-inches wide, and the ladder should have handrails.
  • Electrical equipment should be installed by a licensed electrician and be current in safety codes.

 Basic Water Safety Rules:

  • If a child is missing-Always check the pool first.
  • Never leave children unattended and always have a designated lifeguard. The lifeguard should be within arm's reach of children younger than five (touch supervision).
  • Know CPR and have a first aid kit and phone labeled 9-1-1 poolside.
  • Don't use chlorine dispensers that resemble toys.
  • Use non-slip materials around the pool and pool accessories
  • Cover all sharp edges.
  • Make sure lawn furniture, trees, shrubs, ect., are not close enough to provide a "boost" into the water.

These tips are a compilation from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Pool Safely, Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (P&SS Act), American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Drowning Prevention Alliance.

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