POOL SAFETY : Experts advise not to wait until near-tragedy to safeguard your pool. For a few thousand dollars, you can build a series of defenses that will give you peace of mind even when the children are out of sight.

Six-month-old Morgan Pace of Westminster is still too young to crawl, but her parents are taking no chances. Janet and David Pace have installed a wrought-iron safety fence around their swimming pool to make sure Morgan does not become another Orange County drowning statistic.

When it comes to child-proofing the family pool, the Paces are still the exception rather than the rule. More often than not, fences, pool covers and other safety devices are installed after a near-tragedy has occurred, not before.

Apart from the added expense, pool owners find most safety precautions inconvenient and downright unaesthetic. Janet Pace has no patience with such notions: “My baby’s life is far more important than whether a fence looks nice or not.”

Drowning, the leading cause of death for children under the age of 5, is 100% preventable, yet drownings in Orange County are climbing. Although the pool season has just begun, six people, five of them children, have already lost their lives in pool and spa accidents around the county. Total drowning deaths, including those in bathtubs, was nine last year.

Jim Landis, founder of the Children’s Pool Safety Assn., says: “Public awareness is well up, but people still aren’t taking the next step--making their pools child-safe--because they don’t think it’s going to happen to them.

“Yet the fact remains that having small children in the same house as a swimming pool is like playing Russian roulette. A child is 14 times more likely to die in a pool accident than in a car accident.”

Under current law, all pool owners are required to install perimeter fencing around their property but not necessarily around their pools. Downing prevention advocates point out that fencing around the home safeguards only the neighbors’ kids, while most drowning victims are children who have died in their own family pool.

Safety experts are lobbying to change the law to require that the pools be enclosed on all sides. They stress, however, that a fence is only the first step in making a pool safe for children.

“We have heard of children putting a tricycle on top of a toy box and then a beach ball on top of the tricycle and climbing over the fence,” says Mary Anne Sager, chairwoman of Save Our Kids, the Orange County Trauma Society’s drowning prevention group.

The key to preventing a pool tragedy, according to Sager, is understanding that, given enough time, any bright child is going to figure out a way to bypass a barrier.

“You therefore have to put up several layers of protection to buy time for yourself before you realize your child is out of sight,” she says.

Fencing

To be truly safe for children, a fence has to enclose the pool entirely to prevent access from back doors, side gates and open garages. Chain-link fencing is inappropriate because it can be easily climbed.

Wrought iron is the most popular choice for safety-fencing. Slats should be vertical and unadorned--ornate scrollwork provides a wonderful foothold for young climbers. The Trauma Society specifies that such fences be at least five feet high and that slats be no more than four inches apart, including where the fence meets the wall.

Fences should enclose the pool and nothing more to minimize the amount of non-pool traffic within the fenced area. The more often adults have to enter the area to get garden tools or to use the barbecue, the higher the chances that the gate will be accidentally left open. A fence is only a fence if the gate is closed.

A gate should always open outward so a child pushing against it will close it. It should be self-closing and self-latching. The latching mechanism should be at the top of the gate, where children will not be able to reach it.

A pool-code wrought-iron fence, which can be installed in less than a day, averages about $12 per foot, with gates starting at about $75.

A popular alternative to the wrought-iron fence is the nylon-mesh fence.

Because the mesh is attached to aluminum poles that slide into the ground at three-foot intervals around the pool, the entire fence can be removed in five to 10 minutes. This makes it the ideal fence for grandparents or for pool owners who entertain while the children are out of the house. It can also be removed once the children are grown, then used on those occasions when guests bring small children.

The fence is installed 24 inches from the edge of the pool to maximize yard space and to minimize non-pool traffic in the pool area. Tough polymer-coated mesh is weather-resistant, practically impervious to tears, too fine to allow little toes a hold for climbing and soft enough not to injure an unsteady toddler who may fall against it. And because toys or pets cannot pass through or under the mesh, children are not tempted to try to get to the other side to retrieve them.

These fences can be installed in one day for $1,000 to $2,000.

Pool and Spa Covers

Not all pool covers are for safety. In fact, many solar covers--whose primary purpose is to conserve heat and prevent water evaporation--can actually be deathtraps. Because they are not attached to the pool, they can collapse under the weight of a child and suffocate him. Worse, a child can easily slip, unseen, under such a cover, which then keeps him under water and out of sight.

True safety covers, such as those distributed by Cover Pool Inc. of Tustin and Poolsaver Inc. of San Dimas, have to meet safety standards, including attaching in some way to the sides of the pool. They also have to be strong enough to support the weight of at least two adults. And because a child can drown in as little as two inches of water, many of them come with a pumping device to remove rainwater that may collect on top.

These covers are available for both rectangular and irregularly shaped pools and can be either automatic or manually operated.

At the touch of a button, an automatic cover runs out on two sets of tracks, which extend along the pool’s deck or are recessed into it. With a semiautomatic system, the cover is pulled out manually and snapped down around the deck. To remove it, the snaps are unfastened, and the cover retracts automatically at the push of a button. With a manual system, the cover is both pulled and rewound by hand.

For extra safety, push-buttons should be out of children’s reach, hand cranks should be lockable and manual snaps should be of the type that can be disconnected only with a special tool.

Most safety covers can be installed in one day. Prices start about $2,000 for manually operated covers, while fully automatic covers cost $5,000 to $6,000.

Spas are as dangerous for children as pools, but few people are willing to fence in the family spa. So they resort to lightweight spa covers for safety. The Admiral Aluminum spa cover, which is sold by most spa dealers, is the only one that locks down with a special key. In addition, it can support up to 300 pounds and lasts considerably longer than most standard spa covers. A custom-made cover costs $450 to $600.

Securing the House

In 70% of all drownings, the child was last seen inside the house. It is therefore crucial to secure all exits that lead to the pool so small children are unable to get out of the house unsupervised.

Both doors and windows should have appropriate locks and latches. Locks on doors should be high enough to be out of their reach, and climbing aids such as boxes, tables and footstools should be out of the way.

In spite of such precautions, children still make their way outside when doors are left open, often by other children. Inexpensive sound alarms, available at most hardware stores and easy to mount, will alert adults each time a door or window is opened or left ajar.

Last Line of Defense

Pool alarms sit on the water surface and sound a loud signal when they detect movement in the water. Safety advocates recommend pool alarms only as a final backup, such as when the pool cover is off and guests are visiting, or if pool and garden workers may leave the gate unlatched. Pool alarms are priced as low as $80, but these are so sensitive that they are constantly reacting to such disturbances as wind or leaves falling into the pool. Remote alarms such as those made by Remington may cost about $150 but offer the added feature of being heard inside the house as well.

Although video monitors smack of hi-tech surveillance, few professionals believe they provide little ones any measure of safety around a pool.

“Distractions are distractions,” says Sager of Save Our Kids. “Just like you are not going to be standing at the window staring at the pool, you’re not going to be able to stare at the video monitor without interruption.”

Some pool owners are installing photo-electric eyes: light beams that stretch across the yard like an invisible fence. But a child will trip the alarm only once he has broken through the beam and is on his way to the pool, which gives a parent just seconds to race from the front of the house to the back yard.

Many safety advocates are reluctant to endorse pool alarms in principle because they sound only once a child is in the water.

Saving Precious Time

“It only takes a few seconds for a child’s system to shut down,” Sager says. “If you don’t know what to do once you get to them, the product serves no purpose.”

A parent’s ability to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation while paramedics are on the way has meant the difference between life and death for countless drowning accident victims. The Red Cross offers free courses in CPR in several locations. Once trained, you should be recertified each year to keep your skills from getting rusty.

A precaution as simple as installing an extra phone jack near the back door or keeping a cellular phone near the pool can also make every second count in a life-and-death emergency.

For some people, however, even layers of protection aren’t enough.

“We were very concerned about the pool in the back yard,” says one young Mission Viejo mother of three. “We had it fenced in, but my 2 1/2-year-old was already trying to scale it. We had alarms, but I didn’t feel secure. And with pool covers, once they are off, you are faced with the same danger.”

The family’s solution was a drastic one. They filled in the pool with gravel, topped it off with sod and installed a swing set for the children.

“It’s a very radical move, and I am not advocating it for anybody else,” the young mother says. “But for us, it’s marvelous. I can read or fall asleep for a few minutes without worrying about anything happening. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

1990 Pool Drownings

Krystal Lynn Marquis, 18 months

Drowned Feb. 22 in a man-made pond at The Streams apartment complex in Fullerton. The child was playing unattended downstairs at her mother’s fiance’s apartment. He thought she was upstairs, supervised by her mother.

Randi Newkirk, 5

Died April 15, four days after firefighters pulled her from the bottom of her grandparent’s swimming pool in Fullerton. Her three-year-old sister, Robyn, nearly drowned in the same incident. The children were left briefly unattended by their grandmother while playing on the steps at the shallow end of the pool.

Martha Munoz-Lemus, 36

Drowned April 22, while baby-sitting a 2-year-old boy at a friend’s house in El Toro. The child’s cries from the backyard pool alerted a neighbor, who found Munoz-Lemus on the bottom on the pool. The child was secured in a flotation ring, but Munoz-Lemus had been dead for two hours.

Kazarina Hariluk, 1 - Died April 27, four days after she fell into her family’s backyard hot tub in Corona Del Mar. The child, who had wandered outside, was discovered within minutes, but paramedics were unable to revive her.

Thomas Mallace, 18 months - Drowned April 29 in a backyard swimming pool at his Placentia home. He was playing downstairs with his three-year-old brother, and wandered unnoticed out a patio door when his mother left to go upstairs for a moment.

Bryden Sanborn, 3 - Drowned May 12 in a hot tub at the Cavalier Inn & Suites in Garden Grove. The boy wandered into the tub during an unsupervised visit to the pool area with his 9-year-old brother.

Drowning-Prevention Tips for Families with Pools

Kid-proofing your pool means constructing several alyers of protection:

WHAT TO DO

SAFETY COVERS * A child can slip unnoticed under a normal solar cover. A safety cover on the other hand attaches in some way around the perimeter of the pool. * Cover should be strong enough to support the weight of at least two adults. * Since a child can drown in as little as 2” of water, some kind of pumping device is needed to remove rain or sprinkler water that collects on the cover’s surface. FENCING * Enclose the pool completely--most drownings occur when children wander out of the back door of their own house. * The fencing should be made of plain wrought iron--children can use embellishments for climbing. * Fencing should be at least five feet high; bars should be no further than four inches apart. Gap where fence meets garden wall should not be wider than four inches. * Include as little as possible within the fencing. Access to barbecue pit, pool supplies, etc. increases adult traffic, thereby increasing the odds of the gate being accidently left open. * Gates should open outwards and should be self-closing and self-latching beyond a child’s reach. AUXILIARY SAFETY: * Secure all doors leading to the pool area with childproof locks and latches. Inexpensive sound alerts, available at hardware stores, give off an alarm when a door is opened. * Video monitors inside the house scan pool activity. * A telephone extension in the patio area can save precious seconds during an emergency. * Learn CPR. ORANGE COUNTY DROWNING DEATHS

Children ages 9 and under 1978: 14 deaths 1989: 9 deaths