Pool Safety For The Elderly

Pool safety is not just a necessary concern for parents with young children. The subject of pool safety and pool fences has many faces. I recently installed a fence for a family that had no small children and no pets. The pool fence was installed for their elderly mother. They had a couple of scary moments with their mother being around the pool. Unfortunately, the mother has Alzheimer's disease and is no longer aware of the dangers of the swimming pool. If you have a swimming pool in your backyard you should be aware of everyone that comes into your hard; young and old alike can become victims of an unprotected swimming pool. Be aware and become secure. The safety of others is in your hands. Pool fences can protect people of all ages.

Chris Rastad
Pool Guard of Los Angeles

Full Time Protection - Fence OR Net

"Should we buy a pool net or a pool fence?" is the first question we receive daily at Pool Guard of Puerto Rico. Mrs. Rodriguez was not different in the fact that she wanted to protect her pool. The reason was not because of children and not even because of grandchildren. The reason was simply liability. Mrs. Rodriguez travels frequently back and forth to Miami and fears that the little foot prints she has found around her pool may turn into a not so happy situation. After a thorough review of the benefits of the self-closing gate combined with the pool fence, Mrs. Rodriguez decided that a pool net met her safety needs and was more aesthetically pleasing for her resort-style back yard and swimming pool area. Now, upon completion of the pool net, Mrs. Rodriguez of San Juan, Puerto Rico, feels much safer while traveling and was especially pleased with the service provided by her Pool Guard representative, Miguel Santiago.

Marisela Montes
Pool Guard of Puerto Rico

Natural Disasters and Pool Safety

Here in San Diego we recently have experienced one of the worst natural disasters in Southern California's history - uncontrollable wildfires. This has posed a number of problems concerning pool safety.

The first deals with individuals whose homes have burned and are now unlivable. I personally experienced this myself when I lived in New Orleans and my home was damaged due to Hurricane Katrina. The first thing I did as far as home restoration was concerned was to secure my pool area. My family was not living in the home, but other children in the neighborhood were still living there and could access my pool with very little trouble. I immediately had a pool fence installed, secure in the fact that a pool fence would keep neighborhood children safe from an accidental drowning. I would strongly recommend anyone who has a pool in the San Diego area and has suffered damage to their home and was forced to evacuate the home to contact Pool Guard and allow us to help you secure your pool by installing pool fences.

Additionally, if you decide to drain your pool while construction is occurring, I would suggest having a swimming pool safety fence installed to prevent a child from falling into the swimming pool.

Koy Nichols
Pool Guard of San Diego

Pool Safety Bill Encourages States To Adopt Pool Safety Laws

U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz has introduced a new bill designed to put pool safety fences around all swimming pools, hot tubs and whirlpools. Her main purspose of this proposed legislation is to raise the nation's awareness of pool safety.

U.S. Rep. Wasserman Schultz became alarmed by the number of pool drowning deaths when she served in the Florida Legislature. She pushed through a state law in Florida that required all new residential swimming pools to be built with one of four safety features:

• Pool barrier fence
• Pool cover, such as a pool net
• Exit alarms on all doors or windows with pool access
• Self-closing, self latching pool gates

Pool Guard was behind this particular piece of pool safety legislation when it was first proposed in Florida. Pool Guard also supports the new legislation to require pool safety fences around all swimming pools, hot tubs and whirlpools. With over 600 swimming pool drowning deaths for children under age 4 in Florida, we know all too well that the best way to prevent a pool drowning is to provide additional layers of protection such as a pool fence.

Installing Pool Fencing Can Save Your Child's Life

With summer right around the corner and school ending, it is time to think about pool safety!

Swimming pool drownings are the leading cause of death for children under the age of five years old. So give serious consideration this summer to installing pool fencing for your home swimming pool for your child, grandchild or neighborhood children.

• Pool fencing is intended to prevent a child from having access to a swimming pool unless a responsible adult is present.
• Pool fencing that is at least 4 feet high, with vertical openings less than 4-inches wide and with a self-closing and self-latching pool gate is considered adequate.
• The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the installation of pool fencing be at least 5 feet high. These characteristics distinguish pool fencing from property-line fencing, which merely separates yards with swimming pools from neighboring properties.

Childproofing Your Home

Childproofing your house does not have to be a major event, a quick walk or crawl through your home can open your eyes to the dangers your child will face every day. Look at the task of Child Proofing your home - at their level. Get down on your hands and knees and see things the way they do.

When I walk into a customer’s home I start right in the foyer and take a look at the stair case and the banister. I always recommend a permanently mounted gate at the top of stairs to prevent falls. I check the spacing between banister slats and suggest Plexiglas if there is a risk of the child falling through or using the slats to climb. Some clients choose to gate the bottom of the stairs or close off the foir area at other access points instead. While in this area I look for tall or top heavy pieces of furniture that should be secured to avoid being tipped, Suggest locks on closets and throwing away dry cleaning bags, I also suggest locks on basement and exterior doors and suggest outlet/cord protection devices where needed.

With so much outdoor living these days I like to take a look at the deck and suggest gates at the steps and make sure the slat spacing is safe. Some parents may want to consider a soft mat for children to crawl on instead of wood or concrete decks. If a pool is involved parents should be aware that this is a major safety concern and have appropriate layers of protection in place. I suggest alarms on all doors from the house to the pool area, A swimming pool safety fence that surrounds the pool that has a self closing / self latching gate and things like always being able to see the pool from the house, keeping a cordless phone near the pool to call for help and so you don’t have to leave the pool area to answer the phone. Parents should also take a CPR class and be sure to check the pool first if in doubt.

My Child Can Swim - Who Needs Pool Safety Fencing?

The following link goes to an article on a non profit site that concludes from a study that pool safety fencing indeed saves small children’s lives and that a strong closing gate is an important part a safe system.

Also I found this info interesting because I hear from several potential customers that “My 3 year old child can swim because he/she had a swim class last year.”

Well, I have a 3 year old that has been through several classes and I can’t imagine trusting his safety on his current ability to swim or his judgment.

A CDC study about self-reported swimming ability (Gilchrist et al. 2000) found that:

• Younger survey respondents reported greater swimming ability than older respondents; Self-reported ability increased with level of education (i.e., high school graduate, college graduate, etc.)
• Among racial groups, African Americans reported the most limited swimming ability
• Men of all ages, races, and educational levels consistently reported greater swimming ability than women.

Vero Beach Florida Pool Drowning

We had a drowning in Vero Beach just a couple of weeks ago. A two year old boy scurried away from the sight of his adult supervision for just a few seconds and…This tragic incident happened in a very well to do neighborhood near the beach. Accidents can and do happen to ANYONE and EVERYONE. This is one ‘accident’ that we have a choice in preventing. We got a few extra calls for safety product estimates after citizens read the news in the paper, but it was too late to help prevent that tragedy in this family’s life.

I personally know a few families who have lost children to drownings and it NEVER ends well. It’s a devastating occurance for everyone involved right down to the paramedics who attempt to revive the child. One of my good friends was a medic on this site. He is a true professional and yet he was absolutely moved by this scene. Here he is, a 250 lb. giant of a man, a father of four and a top notch paramedic, and he helpless in his attempts to help this little boy or his family. He said the grandmother was simply wilted and crushed by the entire ordeal.

Maybe I’m preaching to the choir, but in a nutshell, the more layers of protection, the better. A safety fence or net would have almost certainly given the adult in charge the necessary seconds or minute to find this young boy before he ever even got to the water. It would have changed these people’s lives forever. What’s that worth?

It makes my skin crawl for some to suggest that these tragic incidents are a “way to market safety products”. I don’t ever want to take someone’s emotions and play games with them. It also makes me very sad, angry and a host of other feelings, when a simple and relatively inexpensive device like a pool fence is seen by some as an eyesore, inconvenience or waste of money at the expense of a little boy’s or girl’s life. I just can’t justify being silent about this issue. It’s a mission and I’m hoping many more people will be added to the cause before I have to read or hear about another child drowning.

Sincerely,
Joel Molinari
Pool Guard of the Treasure Coast

Swimming Pool Safety Rules

YOUR CHILD’S LIFE IS VALUABLE…GUARD IT CAREFULLY THIS SUMMERTIME

Summertime is fast approaching. School will be out and vacation time begins. Be sure you have developed an Annual Spring Checklist for all the Safety concerns you want to avoid with the coming outdoor pool season.

Swimming Pool Safety Tips:

• Be sure the list of Pool Rules is posted and updated and in an obvious place for all to see.
• Remove and store all pool chemicals, equipment, hoses, and clamps etc in a safe locked storage area for use when you need them.
• Be sure any buckets are not filled with water or chemicals.
• Use protective electrical covers for all outlets, both inside and outside of your home.
• Check the hinges and latches, in particular to the pool or hot tub gate. Be sure they all latch well; it’s pretty easy for little fingers to manipulate a loosely attached latch.
• Be sure all electrical appliances are away from any water sources which may cause an electrical shock.
• Maintain a life ring with rope near the pool or a long pole to use to reach someone who may be in trouble in the water.
• Be sure the seasons life jackets are in good repair and ready to use, especially the ones for the little ones.
• If children are swimming in the pool be sure an adult is present to watch them. Contact your pool company that installed your safety fence and ask them if they do an annual safety check.Then schedule one if they do.

Pool Safety Guidelines

Pool Safety 101

• Pools should have layers of protection to prevent drowning
• Fences and walls should be at least 4 feet high
• Self-latching gates out of reach of children
• Alarms on doors, pool covers, motion-detectors
• Rescue equipment such as a pole, life ring etc.
• A phone by the pool area
• Pool area free from toys, chairs etc.

People Should

• Learn CPR and practice it Learn how to swim and never swim alone
• Learn FIRST RESPONDER skills
• Be aware of possible dangers
• Be responsible for safety features and watching children
• Never leave a child alone around water

Greatest Problems Causing Near Drowning or Drowning are:

• Lack of Adult Supervision
• Lack of Awareness, Training and Education
• No Lifeline in Place
• No trained Personnel Available for Response
• No Fence or Barrier
• Gates Left Open
• Lack of General Water Safety

Experts believe the installation of fences around household swimming pools could save the lives of some but not all of the nearly 600 toddlers who drown in the US every year.

Additional strategies to prevent drowning are also needed.

• An increase in the level of supervision of children by parents, older siblings and baby sitters would probably save the greatest number of young lives.
• Researchers believe adults need to be better educated as to the dangers posed by the family swimming pool.
• Children need to be made aware of the dangers of water as well as the pleasures.
• Adults need to become aware of the safety measures to take to keep their children safe and then take responsibility for the safety of their surroundings.

Water is a great source of enjoyment, however, it can, as well be a potential danger.

• All Caregivers who supervise children should receive training in Emergency Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and First Responder and First Aid Skills.
• Telephones and rescure equipment should be easily accessed from the pool area, providing a lifeline in place by the pool

Pool Safety Fence Research

DON’T TAKE SOMEONE ELSES WORD FOR IT….RESEARCH YOURSELF

It only takes a moment and a few inches of water to create a deadly combination, a child could drown. Don’t have a swimming pool? A pool fence should also enclose the area around a hot tub or outdoor spa area as well.

Before deciding which pool contractor to use we suggest: Call the Better Business Bureau in your area to see if there are any adverse comments or issues with the company, ask the company for references, photos if at all possible with permission to contact the consumers they have done work for and an opportunity to see first hand the company’s most recent work.

Interview different swimming pool fence contractors and gauge which one you are most comfortable with. Whose work seems to stand out among the rest? Who provided you with the best overall information and services? Are their swimming pool fencing products guaranteed? Which fencing company is providing you the best prices to meet your needs?