Keep Pools and Spas Safe - Brian McConlogue

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Last week, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported that drowning deaths involving children younger than 5 in pools and spas increased from 267 annually in 2002-2004 to 283 annually in 2003-2005. Most of these deaths occurred in residential settings and involved children ages 1-2. Further, it noted that drowning is the leading cause of unintentional death to children ages 1-4. This column is drawn from a CSPS press release and related media reports. The data also show that there were 74 reported incidents involving entrapment resulting in 9 deaths and 63 injuries between 1999 and 2007. Six of the deaths occurred in pools and three occurred in spas and all of the deaths except for one involved children 14 or younger. These incidents involve being trapped by the force of suction at the drain and can occur because of a broken or missing outlet cover. Drowning occurs more commonly when children get access to the pool during a short lapse in adult supervision. Pool owners are advised to adopt several layers of protection, including physical barriers, such as a fence completely surrounding the pool with self-closing, self-latching gates, to prevent unsupervised access by young children. If the house forms a side of the barrier, there should be alarms on doors leading to the pool area and/or a power safety cover over the pool. Experts agree that parental supervision is the #1 safety measure. Consumer advocates point to the ready availability of large and relatively inexpensive inflatable pools as a growing concern. Generally, these products are less likely to be subject to local codes requiring fencing and alarms. The head of Consumers Union goes further and recommends not buying them because their sides are pliable, allowing children to topple in, and because their covers are meant to keep out debris, not the weight of a child. The Red Cross encourages all parents to contact their chapters and to ask about the many services offered. It offers CPR, First Aid training and the Learn to Swim program to assist in preventing any pool and spa tragedies. In addition, parents should use these tips to help prevent drowning deaths: • Since every second counts, always look for a missing child in the pool first. Precious time is often wasted looking for missing children anywhere but in the pool. • Don't leave toys and floats in the pool that can attract young children and cause them to fall in the water when they reach for the items. • Inspect pools and spas for missing or broken drain covers. • Do not allow children in a pool or spa with missing/broken covers. Inserting an arm or leg into the opening can result in powerful suction and total body submersion/drowning. • For above-ground and inflatable pools with ladders, remove or secure the ladder when the pool is not in use. • It is important to always be prepared for an emergency by having rescue equipment and a phone near the pool. Parents should learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Let’s all work on making sure that a preventable tragedy does not mar the summer season. Assistant Chief Brian McConlogue is a Sussex County native, graduated from Indian River HS and attended DelTech. He is a nationally certified emergency medical technician, firefighter II and diver. Brian is a career firefighter/EMT with the Millville VFC and lives in Bethany Beach. He can be reached at [email protected].