Residents of the Orlando area spend hours each summer swimming in our backyard pools or relaxing in hot tubs. Tragically though, over 200 young children drown in backyard pools each year nationwide, including some in Central Florida. In many cases, a properly installed pool safety fence could have prevented these tragedies. The American Red Cross suggests pool owners make safety their priority by following these guidelines:
- Secure your pool with appropriate barriers, aka a pool fence or pool safety fence or baby fence. Completely surround your pool with a 4-feet (48-inches) high fence or barrier with a self-closing, self-latching gate.
- Place a safety cover on the pool or hot tub when not in use and remove any ladders or steps used for access. Consider installing a pool alarm that goes off if anyone enters the pool.
- Keep children under active supervision at all times. Stay in arm’s reach of young children. Designate a responsible person to watch the water when people are in the pool—never allow anyone to swim alone. Have young or inexperienced swimmers wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket.
- Ensure everyone in the home knows how to swim well by enrolling them in age-appropriate water orientation and learn-to-swim courses from the Red Cross.
- Keep your pool or hot tub water clean and clear. Maintain proper chemical levels, circulation and filtration. Regularly test and adjust the chemical levels to minimize the risk of earaches, rashes or more serious diseases.
- Establish and enforce rules and safe behaviors, such as “no diving,” “stay away from drain covers,” “swim with a buddy” and “walk please.”
- Ensure everyone in the home knows how to respond to aquatic emergencies by having appropriate safety equipment and taking water safety, first aid and CPR courses from the Red Cross.
We install pool safety fences
Certified Pool Pros offers complete installation of pool safety fences. If your pool does not have one, we strongly urge you to install one, please call us at 407-859-POOL (7665) for a free pool safety fence estimate.
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Thank you Jesse, hopefully we can all make pool safety a priority this summer!