Safety Devices
Barriers
Barriers will slow a child’s access to the water, but no barrier is guaranteed to stop a child. The great majority of fatal drownings or near-drownings included a breached barrier. It’s very easy to lose track of a child for one minute or more.
- Establish several layers of barriers to make sure the child does not have enough time to get past all of them.
- Install self-latching, self-closing gates with fences at least four feet high completely separating the pool from the backyard and house. Always lock the gate and never prop the gate open.
- Keep spas and hot tubs covered & locked when not in use.
- If you have a pet door to backyard. You need a 4-sided fence to separate pool from the yard.
- If you have a large above ground pool that cannot be emptied easily, put a fence around it with a gate that locks.
- Cover pool and spa drains with safety guards or drain covers so the suction can’t entrap an adult or child.
- Install door alarms to sound if a child goes out to the pool area.
- Use pool alarms to notify if anyone or anything enters the water.
- Install pool covers that support the weight of an adult or more without collapsing into the water.
Reduce or eliminate a child’s attraction to the water
- Remove toys from around pools
- Empty buckets
- Drain bathtubs after use
- Keep toilet seat closed and use toilet seat locks
For information on:
- Pool fencing: look in business telephone directories under Pool Fencing/Pool Fence Companies
- Door alarms: look in business telephone directories under Home Improvement/Hardware Stores
- Visit: The Association of Pool & Spa Professionals® at apsp.org for a complete list of builders, retailers and service companies in the area