Pools, Spas Require Adequate Fencing : Safeguards Are a Must to Prevent Child Drownings

No one likes to think of the back-yard swimming pool as a killer silently lying in wait for its next victim. But in thousands of Orange County homes, where children and swimming pools share the same back yard, that’s the tragic reality.

So far this year, back-yard swimming pools and spas have claimed six young lives, and 18 other children have nearly drowned. Sadly, not all of those pulled to safety involve happy endings.

Of the 18 rescued so far this year, two suffered permanent brain damage. And there are hospitals and homes housing many children from near drownings of previous years who will be mentally retarded for life.

Are those statistics shocking? They should be. Are they unusual? Sadly, no. They are distressingly common.

Each year, county records show, as many as 100 children under age 5 drown, or nearly drown, in back-yard pools and spas. In fact, drowning is--and consistently has been--the leading cause of accidental death for children between the ages of 1 and 4.

Our children deserve a better fate. If there is one place they ought to be safe, it is in their homes under the watchful care of their families. Most parents think they do provide that protection. The parents of the 24 children who drowned or nearly drowned so far this year surely thought that, too.

But it only takes a momentary lapse in the constant vigilance needed for a pool accident to occur. Research done by the Orange County Pool Safety Network, an education group, showed that in four out of every five drowning deaths the child was last seen indoors.

So, despite all the good intentions and care, children do manage to slip out of sight--and into the pool. That’s why the safety experts--who really believe the best approach is not to have a pool or spa if you have a child under the age of 5--strongly urge layers of protection.

That means more fencing. In addition to the three-sided fence around the property and the pool that keeps people off the property and away from the pool, there should be another fence that separates the pool from the rest of the yard--and the house and its young occupants. Gates leading to the pool should be self-closing and locking.

Other protective layers are alarms, and a cover over the pool. A poolside telephone can save precious minutes in summoning emergency help.

Also, people with pools should know CPR; it can often mean the difference between life and death.

And all communities should have such strict safety requirements as four-sided fencing as part of their pool permit process.

Last year Mission Viejo wisely enacted a stringent pool ordinance that requires alarms on all pool gates. The Irvine City Council rejected a tougher law.

More cities should follow Mission Viejo’s lead. We need those layers of pool protection to keep those silent back-yard killers from claiming more young lives.