| According to the U.S.
Consumer Product Safety Commission, 85% of the
children who drown each year do so at their own
or a friends' pool. The majority of these
drownings can be attributed to momentary lapses
in parental supervision combined with the lack
of proper pool safety barriers. |
| In California, Arizona
and Florida, drowning is the leading
cause of accidental death in and around the home
for children under the age of 5 with a ranking
of number two for the nation. Many communities
have enacted safety regulations governing
residential swimming pools, but it is up to
parents to comply with these regulations. |
| Apart from these laws,
parents who own pools can take their own
precautions to reduce the chances of their
youngsters accessing the family pool or spa
without adult supervision. Foremost in
protecting against drowning, all experts suggest
erecting barriers to provide layers of
protection for a child who strays from
supervision. Barriers include a fence or wall,
door alarms for the house, and a power safety
cover over the pool. |
| According to the Injury
Free Coalition for Kids, you should install
child proof fencing around swimming pools. A
successful pool barrier prevents a child from
getting OVER, UNDER, or THROUGH and keeps the
child from gaining access to the pool except
when supervising adults are present. You must be
aware of the potentially hazardous properties of
a pool. Just how serious is the problem? |
Drowning is
the number one cause of death for children under
five in Florida, Arizona, and
California with a ranking of number two for the
nation. |
| 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. So we are literally talking
about people who could live next door to you. |
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| 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. |
| The investigation by the
Commission was directed at children under age
five in Arizona, California, and Florida who had
drown in home swimming pools. The results might
help you to better understand why drowning is
still the number one killer for three states and
stands at number two for the nation: |
Who was in charge of
supervision at the time of drowning?
|
| 69 percent of the
accidents occurred while one or both parents
were responsible for supervision. |
| 10 percent were adults
other than the parents. |
| 14 percent were sitters. |
| 7 percent were siblings. |
What was the location of
the pool drowning?
|
| 65 percent were in a
pool owned by the child's family. |
| 22 percent were at a
relatives' pool. |
| 11 percent happened at a
neighbor's pool. |
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| The consumer Product
Safety Commission suggests installing a fence or
other barrier, completely around the pool. If
the house is part of the barrier, the doors
leading from the house to the pool should be
protected with an alarm or the pool should have
a power safety cover. |
| - The fence or other
barrier should be at least 4 feet high. It
should have no foot or handholds that could help
a young child to climb it. |
| - Vertical fence slats
should be less than 4 inches apart to prevent a
child from squeezing through |
| - For any pool barrier,
the maximum clearance at the bottom of the
barrier should not exceed 4 inches above grade,
when the measurement is done on the side of the
barrier facing away from the pool. |
| - Gates should open out
from the pool and should be self- closing and
self-latching. The gate should have no opening
greater than ½ inch within 18 inches of the
latch release mechanism. This prevents a young
child from reaching through the gate and
releasing the latch. |
| - If the fence is chain
link, then no part of the diamond-shaped opening
should be larger that 1¾ inch. The mesh size
should not exceed 1¼ inches square. |
| - If horizontal members
are equal to or more than 45 inches apart,
vertical spacing shall not exceed 4 inches. |
| - Fence gates should be
self-closing and self-latching. The gate should
be well maintained to close and latch easily.
The latch should be out of a child's reach. |
| - When the release
mechanism of the self-latching device is less
than 54 inches from the bottom of the gate, the
release mechanism for the gate should be at
least 3 inches below the top of the gate on the
side facing the pool. |
| Note: Placing the
release mechanism at this height prevents a
young child from reaching over the top of a gate
and releasing the latch. Also, the gate and
barrier should have no opening greater than ½
inch within 18 inches of the latch release
mechanism. This prevents a young child from
reaching through the gate and releasing the
latch. |
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| You should always check
with your nearest Building Department for
current codes/requirements pertaining to pool
barriers in your area. The BOCA National
Building Code provided for reference below
should only be used to gain a basic
understanding of the types of requirements you
may encounter locally. |
| THE BOCA NATIONAL
BUILDING CODE/1999 |
| 421.10.1 Enclosures for
private swimming pools: Private swimming pools
shall be enclosed in accordance with Sections
421.10.1 or by other approved barriers. |
| 421.10.1 Outdoor private
swimming pool: An outdoor-private swimming pool,
including an in-ground, above-ground or
on-ground pool, hot tub or spa shall be provided
with a barrier which shall comply with the
following. |
| 1. The top of the
barrier shall be at least 48 inches above
finished ground level measured on the side of
the barrier which faces away from the swimming
pool. The maximum vertical clearance between
finished ground level and the barrier shall be 2
inches measured on the side of the barrier which
faces away from the swimming pool. Where the top
of the pool structure is above finished ground
level, such as an above-ground pool, the barrier
shall be at finished ground level, such as the
pool structure, or shall be mounted on top of
the pool structure. Where the barrier is mounted
on the pool structure, the opening between the
top surface of the pool frame and the bottom of
the barrier shall not allow passage of a 4-inch
diameter sphere. |
| 2. Openings in the
barrier shall not allow passage of a 4-inch
diameter sphere. |
| 3. Solid barriers shall
not contain indentations or protrusions except
for normal construction tolerances and tooled
masonry joints. |
| 4. Where the barrier is
composed of horizontal and vertical members and
the distance between the tops of the horizontal
members is less than 45 inches, the horizontal
members shall be located on the swimming pool
side of the fence. Spacing between vertical
members shall not exceed 1-3/4 inches.
Decorative cutouts shall not exceed 1-3/4 inches
in width. |
| 5. Where the barrier is
composed of horizontal and vertical members and
the distance between the tops of the horizontal
members is 45 inches or more, spacing between
vertical members shall not exceed 4 inches.
Decorative cutouts shall not exceed 13/4 inches
in width. |
| 6. Maximum mesh size for
chain link fences shall be a 11/4-inch square
unless the fence is provided with slats fastened
at the top or the bottom which reduce the
openings to not more than 13/4 inches. |
| 7. Where the barrier is
composed of diagonal members, such as a lattice
fence, the maximum opening formed by the
diagonal members shall be not more than 13/4
inches. |
| 8. Access gates shall
comply with the requirements of items 1 through
7 of Section 421.10.1, and shall be equipped to
accommodate a locking device. Pedestrian access
gates shall open outwards away from the pool and
shall be equipped to accommodate a locking
device. Pedestrian access gates shall open
outwards away from the pool and shall be
self-closing and have a self-latching device.
Gates other than pedestrian access gates shall
have a self-latching device. Where the release
mechanism of the self-latching device is located
less than 54 inches from the bottom of the gate:
(a) the release mechanism shall be located on
the pool side of the gate at least 3 inches
below the top of the gate; and (b) the gate and
barrier shall not have an opening greater than ½
inch within 18 inches of the release mechanism. |
| 9. Where a wall of a
dwelling unit serves as part of the barrier and
contains a door that provides direct access to
the pool, one of the following shall apply: |
| 9.1. All doors with
direct access to the pool through that wall
shall be equipped with an alarm which produces
an audible warning when the door and its screen,
if present, are opened. The audible warning
shall commence not more than 7 seconds after the
door and door screen, if present, are opened and
shall sound continuously for a minimum of 30
seconds. The alarm shall have a minimum sound
pressure rating of 85 dBA at 10 feet and the
sound of the alarm shall be distinctive from
other household sounds such as smoke alarms,
telephones and door bells. The alarm shall
automatically reset under all conditions. The
alarm shall be equipped with manual means, such
as touchpads or switches, to deactivate
temporarily the alarm for a single opening from
either direction. Such deactivation shall last
for not more than 15 seconds. The deactivation
touchpads or switches shall be located at least
54 inches above the threshold of the door. |
| 9.2. All doors with
direct access to the pool through that wall
shall be equipped with a self-closing and
self-latching device with the release mechanism
located a minimum of 54 inches above the floor.
Swinging doors shall open away from the pool
area. |
| 9.3. The pool shall be
equipped with a power safety cover. Where in a
closed position, the cover shall be capable of
holding a weight of 485 pounds, shall not have
any openings that allow passage of a 41/2 inch
sphere and shall incorporate a system to drain
standing water that collects on the cover. The
cover control switch shall be permanently
installed in accordance with NFPA 70 listed in
Chapter 35, and be key-operated and of a
spring-loaded or momentary-contact type. Where
the switch is released, the operation of the
cover shall stop instantly and be capable of
reversing direction immediately. The switch
shall be in the line of sight of the complete
pool cover. |
| 10. Where an
above-ground pool structure is used as a barrier
or where the barrier is mounted on top of the
pool structure, and the means of access is a
fixed or removable ladder or steps, the ladder
or steps shall be surrounded by a barrier which
meets the requirements of items 1 through 9 of
Section 421.10.1. A removable ladder shall not
constitute an acceptable alternative to
enclosure requirements. |
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| 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 not other "backup layers"
in use. |
- Access doors to the pool area with high
locks are a secondary layer of protection.
- Alarms on access doors is another layer
of protection.
- A pool safety barrier (fence) separating
the pool from your home and all access doors
and entrances is one more layer of
protection.
- Water survival training for a child when
he is capable of crawling or walking to the
pool.
- CPR and your knowledge of rescue
techniques are a final layer of protection
should there be an accident.
|
| The goal, with
instituted layers of protection, is to come as
close to a "fail safe" system of preventing
drowning incidents as possible. Meaning that if
there is a momentary lapse of supervision for
whatever reason, we have several backup systems
in place. |
| All must fail before a
drowning can take place. A door has been left
unlocked or open, the alarm system or device for
the door has been turned off, the pool safety
barrier has been left open, your child does
enter the water, panics and does not attempt to
utilize survival swim training, CPR is
administered too late to save the child. |
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| According to the U.S.
Lifesaving Association, drowning is the third
leading cause of unintentional death in the
United States, and the second leading cause of
death for people ages 5 to 44. For children ages
1 to 2, drowning is the leading cause of injury
or death. |
An extensive study on
pool safety by the Consumer Product Safety
Commission yielded some startling statistics.
The investigation by the Commission was directed
at children under age five in Arizona,
California, and Florida who had drown in home
swimming pools. The results might help you to
better understand why drowning is still the
number one killer for three states and stands at
number two for the nation:
Here are some statistics from that report, |
| - In California, Arizona
and Florida, drowning is the leading cause of
accidental death in and around the home for
children under the age of 5. |
| - 75% of children
involved in swimming pool submersion or drowning
accidents were between 1 and 3 years old. |
| - Boys between 1 and 3
years old are the most likely victims of fatal
drowning accidents and near-fatal submersions in
residential swimming pools. |
| - Most of the victims
were being supervised by one or both parents
when the swimming pool accident occurred. |
| - Nearly half of the
child victims were last seen in the house before
the pool accident occurred. In addition, 23
percent of the accident victims were last seen
on the porch or patio or in the yard. |
| - 65 percent of the
accidents occur in a pool owned by the victim's
immediate family, and 33 percent of the
accidents occurred in pools owned by relatives
or friends. |
| - Fewer than 2 percent
of the pool accidents were a result of children
trespassing on property where they didn't live
or belong. |
| - Pool submersions
involving children happen quickly. A child can
drown in the time it takes to answer a phone
call. 77 percent of the swimming pool victims
had been missing for five minutes or less when
they were found in the pool drowned or
submerged. |
| - Pool drownings are
silent deaths. It is unlikely that splashing or
screaming will occur to alert a parent or
caregiver that a child is in trouble. |
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Top |
A copy of Safety
Barrier Guidelines for Home Pools produced
by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
can be obtained by writing to:
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Pool Barriers
Office of Information & Public Affairs
Washington, D.C., 20207
Or at their Web site:
www.cpsc.gov |
Safety Barrier
Guidelines for Home Pools
http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/Pool.pdf
Pool Fencing Can Prevent Child Drownings
http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PREREL/prhtml89/89052.html
CPSP Pool and Spa Safety Publications
http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/chdrown.html
American Academy of Pediatrics
Pool Safety for Children
http://www.aap.org/family/tipppool.htm
Pool and Spa Emergency Procedures
http://nspi.org/consumer_info/
Drowning Prevention Tips
http://nspi.org/consumer_info/
Related Links:
|
Physicians Communications Network.
Search medical library using key word:
"Drowning."
http://www.Medem.com
National Safety Commission - Water Safety
Facts
http://www.nsc.org/library/facts/drown.htm
Safety campaign "Look before you Leap."
http://www.greenweb.com.au/lookleap
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov
Foundation for Aquatic Injury Prevention
http://www.aquaticisf.org
List of National, State and local resources
http://www.calspec.org/drowning_prevention_tips.htm
National Swimming Pool Foundation
http://www.nspf.com
Injury Free Coalition For Kids
http://www.injuryfree.org
Drowning Prevention Foundation
http://www.drownprevention.com
Canadian Pool Safety Links:
Safety at the Pool and Playground-Links
http://www.Safekid.org
Parent Program of Canada
http://www.Safekidscanada.ca
Canadian Red Cross
http://www.redcross.ca/article.asp?id=1043
Health Canada - Swimming Pool Safety
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ehp/ehd/catalogue/psb_pubs/pools.htm
This information in informational
only and the opinion of others and not
necessarily hat of A1A Fence and should not
constitute anything other than information as
A1A Fence does NOT assume any liability or
promise any safety with this information.
|
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