It is important for pool owners to understand that there are criteria that should be met by all pool safety devices / suppliers. When choosing a solid safety cover, below are the features one would look for against the SABS 10134 agreed and recommended Standard for pool safety.

• When closed, the safety cover does not allow any object measuring 114mm in diameter to be forced under the cover / gain access to the water.
• The cover’s fastenings / securing points must not be workable by a small child.
• The cover must have a tensioning / locking system.
• The cover must bear the weight of 220kg.
• No water should pool on top of the cover. After rainfall or if garden sprinklers are used, the water must drain off unaided and the cover must be dry within 5 minutes.
• The safety cover must be installed by an accredited / trained industry supplier.
• The cover should form a complete barrier over the water.

The Framework highlights the most common water bodies where drowning occurs and the populations most at risk in the Western Cape. While the Framework targets the prevention of risk factors specific to these priority groups and settings, it also emphasises the promotion of supportive institutional factors. The Strategic Framework focuses on the prevention of fatal and non-fatal drowning as well as the promotion of water safety. The Framework requires the formation of strong collaborations between provincial departments and other external stakeholders. It provides a framework for partners in the water safety and drowning prevention sector to collaborate on common service delivery activities to achieve the areas for action listed in the Framework. The following objectives have been identified:

1) Establish provincial information strategies and systems based on existing platforms,

2) Strengthen advocacy and enforcement of priority policy measures,

3) Promote multi-sectoral partnerships and water safety collaborations,

4) Strengthen institutional prevention capacity,

5) Strengthen public and specialised education and community awareness,

6) Develop priority barrier interventions, and

7) Develop priority infrastructural interventions.

This Strategic Framework offers a platform from which Departments can implement priority drowning prevention and water safety promotion programmes. The Framework specifies strategic objectives, each with recommended strategies. Specific injury prevention implementation plans will be developed separately by departments or partner agencies, and integrated into existing plans. Some of these interventions are already in place across various departments and have therefore been incorporated as part of this integrated strategy.

Learn more about the Western Cape Strategic Framework for Drowning Prevention

The closest I have come to feeling that shock and fear was during the installation of two of our pools at client’s houses. It has happened twice in the 20 years I have been in the industry. Thankfully no lives were lost but it was close both times. Both kids, toddlers, were in a coma for 24 to 48 hours. The anguish of the parents and family is something you wouldn’t want to see. At that stage, the worry of brain damage is the major concern. Luckily both kids made full recoveries, but I often think about those times and how I felt. It goes to show that owning a swimming pool is a lifestyle change in more ways than just fun and games. People who have not owned swimming pools before do not realise that they are then also responsible for the lives of others. Toddlers once roamed relatively freely around a house without a pool, but it should not be allowed to happen when there is a pool around – pool fence or not.

As a pool builder we want to sell the pool. That’s our area of expertise. We are not really interested in any extras that will stick a spanner in the works for us. We pool builders only talk about pool safety when we are asked by the client, which is often with young families. It is not something that we bring to the client’s attention as part of our standard sales pitch or at the point of sale, from what I have seen in the market place.

Maybe the reason is that safety around a pool for most people is a semi ‘grudge’ buy while we are trying to sell this amazing lifestyle change. They want the pool and the lifestyle but pool safety means three things to them:

1. More money
2. A fence, net or cover does not look that great around the pool that you have been dreaming about in your back garden
3. Lastly a net or cover is seen to be hard work to put on and off.

No one is thinking that they would rather take a risk and have someone drown by not having a net, cover or fence, but the seriousness of safety during the sales pitch is overpowered by the excitement of getting a pool built – the pool builder/salesman is going with the flow,  his priority is the sale.

As pool builders, our priority regarding safety is the actual site where we are building the pool. Is it safe according to the municipal standards, as per the safety form all our clients sign (which states all fences around the property must be at least 1.2m high with no gaps wider than 100mm. Gates must have a spring and automatic gates must close automatically.)

Pool building companies do not make a big deal about safety at point of sale. How many include pool safety in their brochure or on their website?  When clients ask us about safety nets,covers or fences we refer them directly to the suppliers. We dread it when a client wants us to oversee that installation as it means the net or cover can only go on five days after the paving is finished. That means we get paid a week later, when we want to get paid ASAP.

So, my message is that pool builders could contribute more to pool safety among first-time pool owners and quite easily too at the point of sale. I think pool builders traditionally view the pool industry in separate segments with no crossover i.e. pool building, pool maintenance, pool shops, suppliers and pool safety. Pool builders don’t recognise they have a very important part to play in the pool safety cycle.

Yes. There is definitely room for improvement for swimming pool safety among the pool builders. The Consumer Protection Act might force pool builders to be more aware of pool safety, but let’s step up and take the initiative ourselves. And let’s lessen the amount of tradegies occuring in the pools we build.

By John Jager, Horizon Pools

]]> https://www.topstep.co.za/pool-safety-and-the-role-of-pool-builders/feed/ 1 https://www.topstep.co.za/address/ https://www.topstep.co.za/address/#respond Sat, 04 Aug 2012 03:33:37 +0000 http://topstep.co.za/?p=400 By now everybody within the City of Johannesburg knows that I have been punting the idea of swimming pool safety, and for a long time too. Unfortunately we still lose children every year, especially those under 7 years of age, to drowning. And most of these are drownings in private / domestic swimming pools.

When I started this campaign the death toll for water related incidents within the city was around 60 for the period September to December of 2006.  The fact that children had access to unprotected swimming pools was my concern and the fact that home owners were apathetic when it came to children drowning in their pools (often the domestic worker’s child).

Pools that were neglected during the winter months and pools in a state of disrepair also pose a risk to the inquisitive / adventurous child, so the idea of using safety nets was put forward to Council with the consideration of pool SAFETY covers being a rational design, which is part of the ‘deem to satisfy’ rule of SABS 0400. Unfortunately this legislation has met with a lot of negative opposition from various sectors. However, the legislation will most certainly go ahead.

WE NEED TO PROTECT OUR CHILDREN AND KEEP THEM FROM HARM!

By Malcolm Midgley, Divisional Chief, Fire & Hazmat, Gauteng

75% of pool drowning victims are between 1 to 3 years old and, at the time, the child is usually being supervised by one or both parents. 75% of the victims have been missing from sight for less than 5 minutes (for example, when answering a phone call).

CPR instructions – renew your confidence about helping in a drowning event.

Often if some basic CPR can be initiated within 5 minutes of a drowning, the outcome for the victim is significantly better as far as brain function and survival goes. Below is a combination of my CPR guidelines which is drawn from ATLS courses and CPR courses. Hopefully these can help spark the correct action in those horrifying first few minutes. I will always advocate the best is to attend a basic Life Support Class for CPR.

CPR Steps Procedure

Always remember H,H,H,1,2,3,a,b,c

H= shout “hello”, is the victim actually drowning or just face down in the water floating?

H= shout for help, always better to have more hands helping during the incident. If two people are present, one person phones Emergency Services.

H= hazards, make sure there are no hazards before pulling victim from water e.g. electrical cables.

STEP 1: Pull the victim out of the water.

STEP 2: Rescue breaths in 5 second intervals. While you are pulling the victim to land, provide a rescue breath every 5 seconds to the victim.

STEP 3: Lay victim on their back and begin CPR.

If at all possible, get two CPR savvy people involved. This is called “Two-Rescuer CPR”. Rescuer #1 will do the 2 rescue breaths and Rescuer #2 will do compressions… after 2 rounds of CPR, the rescuers switch. It makes CPR less interrupted, the rescuers less fatigued and higher success rates of CPR.

A (Airway)=FIRST! Look for gross blockage (marbles etc…) that can be pulled out or cleared from the victim mouth and/or throat.

B (Breaths)=Give two rescue breaths that last about a second each. (Watch to see the chest rise. If it does not, it means there is airway restriction or blockage. Do a finger sweep if you see blockage. Re-adjust the head so that the chin is pointing upward (for an adult), slightly upward for a child and parallel to the chest for a baby. Try rescue breaths again to see if the chest rises. If not, start chest compressions to try to force the blockage out. Keep checking to see if you can clear the blockage.)

C (Circulation/Compressions) With one hand flat, grasp your dominant hand over the top (palm down). And lace fingers.

Place grasped hands between victim’s nipples. * Begin compressions. 1 ½ – 2 inches deep for an adult, 1- 1 1/2 inches deep for a child and 1/2 – 1 inch deep for an infant.

At a rate of 100 compressions per minute. (So you want them to be less than a second apart.) After 30 compressions, stop and give 2 rescue breaths. Give rescue breaths by pinching the nose and sealing the victim’s entire mouth with yours. (For a baby, cover the baby’s nose AND mouth with your mouth).

* Resume compressions. 30 compressions, 2 rescue breaths. Continue CPR until one of the following happens:

1) A qualified person takes over CPR,

2) The scene becomes unsafe

3) You are too exhausted to continue, or

4) The victim shows obvious signs of life.

IMPORTANT:. I suggest attending a CPR course and getting certified. I have only given basic instruction on CPR so that even if you have been MEANING to go get certified in CPR, here is how to save a life in those horrifying few minutes.

Don’t forget your H,H,H,1,2,3, ABC’s ! Hello, Help, Hazard, 1,2,3, Airway (blockage?/ head tilt), Breathing (Rescue breaths), Circulation (Compressions)–in that order!

By Dr Dion O’Cuinneagain, General Practitioner and former athlete (Irish and Western Province Rugby)