Home pools are becoming more common every day. They provide an excellent means of recreation for your entire family and friends a large part of the year. But beware: They are dangerous if not monitored properly.
Drowning is the number one cause of death for children under five in Florida, Arizona, and California with a ranking of number two for over a dozen other states. For every drowning there are eleven near drowning incidents, according to government statistics; many of which result in totally disabling brain damage.
The majority of the parents involved were responsible people who thought it could never happen to their family. They were careful and had close supervision over their children. Many were in good income brackets, educated, and could afford nice homes with pools in family oriented communities. So, we are literally talking about people who could live next door to you.
A study conducted by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to find out how child drowning incidents occur indicates that SUPERVISION CAN AND DOES FAIL. It’s sad but true!
Supervision is always your primary layer of protection, but as the study shows, 69 percent of the drowning incidents occurred when parental supervision failed and there were no other “backup layers” in use.
1. Access doors to the pool area with high locks are a secondary layer of protection.
2. Alarms on access doors are another layer of protection. The latest Commission report recorded an average of 279 children under five fatally drowning per year – that’s over 3 times as many deaths per year as the heavily covered “Swine Flu,” which prompted a media frenzy. 4 Life Saver Pool Fence Systems, Inc. | Summer Fun; Year-Round Danger
3. A pool safety barrier (fence) separating the pool from your home and all access doors and entrances is one more layer of protection.
4. Alarms both in the pool (pool alarm) and worn on the child (personal immersion alarm).
5. Water survival training for a child when he is capable of crawling or walking to the pool.
6. CPR and your knowledge of rescue techniques are a final layer of protection should there be an accident. The goal, with instituted layers
Read more about Pool Safety at Poolfence.com