Safety Message from the Chief: Backyard Pool Safety
Tuesday, June 7, 2022
With temperatures rising, we will soon be turning to our backyard pools, and those of friends and neighbors to keep cool. Its a typical and picturesque scene that can, unfortunately, turn tragic all too quickly without the proper precautions taken. Drowning is the number one cause of unintentional death among children ages 1-4. According to Consumer Product Safety Commission data released in June 2021, on average, there were 397 reported pool-or-spa-related fatal drownings involving children younger than 15 years of age per year from 2016 through 2018.
Drownings happen quickly and often they are silent. It's not like in the movies, where the victim is portrayed as splashing and yelling for help. Drownings are 100% preventable, but to prevent these tragedies, we need everyone to always follow simple water safety steps. By putting proven safety behaviors and systems into practice, you and your family will be much more secure in and around residential pools.
Supervision is the most important step you can take to keep children safer in and around the water. Designate a "Water Watcher" - this is an adult, whose only job is to watch children when they're in the pool. It's important that the Water Watcher is not distracted by texting or phone calls. Additionally, the Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends that you create a pool safety toolkit to have near your pool or spa to ensure that if the worst happens, you are ready to respond. What should be in a pool safety toolkit for your home pool or spa?
-A first aid kit
-A pair of scissors to cut hair, clothing or a pool cover, if needed
-A charged portable telephone to call Halesite Fire Department: 631-427-7250
-A flotation device
These are safety steps you can adopt at your residential pool or spa:
-Always watch children when they are in or near a pool or spa. No kidding- ALWAYS.
-Teach children basic water safety tips
-Keep children away from pool drains, pipes and other openings to avoid entrapment's
-If a child is missing, look for him or her in the pool or spa first
-Learn how to swim and teach your child how to swim
-Learn to perform CPR on children and adults, and update those skills regularly
-Install a four-foot or taller fence around the pool and spa and use self-closing and self-latching gates; ask your neighbors to do the same at their pools.
-Install and use a lockable safety cover on your spa.
-Install pool and gate alarms to alert you when children go near the water.
-Ensure any pool and spa you use has compliant drain covers, and ask your pool service provider if you do not know
-Maintain pool and spa covers in good working order
-Consider using a surface wave or underwater alarm
Even if you're not a parent, you should still learn how to Pool Safely. Are you a grandparent? A babysitter? A neighbor of someone with a pool, or a pool owner with young kids nearby? Remember, being present while children are in the water isn't enough. You must give them your full attention while they are swimming and playing. In an age where we are attached to our digital devices, the time you take to check an email is just enough time for this sort of disaster to strike.
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