By GEOFF PENDER - glpender@sunherald.com
JACKSON -- A grieving mother hopes something positive can come from her family’s tragedy -- improved, statewide regulations for fencing and gates around public and quasi-public swimming pools to prevent children drowning.
“I never want anyone to feel the way I feel,” Lea Montjoy said. “I can’t have my son back, but anything we can do ....”
William Lee Montjoy, 3, of Diamondhead drowned Sept. 25, 2010, at the Pass Christian Yacht Club pool. Authorities said he wandered away from a group of children that afternoon and fell into the pool. That same weekend, another toddler in Jackson County awoke before his parents, got outside and drowned in a pool at the house. Drowning is the second-leading cause of deaths for children in the U.S., on average 1,000 a year.
SUBMITTED PHOTO William Lee Montjoy, 3, drowned Sept. 25, 2010. A pool-safety bill pending in the Mississippi Legislature is titled the William Lee Montjoy Pool Safety Act.
Mississippi House Bill 1281, the William Lee Montjoy Pool Safety Act, authored by Rep. David Baria, D-Bay St. Louis, would require private clubs, apartment or townhome complexes and homeowners associations to have specific types of fencing around their pools and gates that automatically swing shut and latch. It would not apply to homeowners. It’s modeled after Texas law, and Florida and other states have similar regulations.
The bill passed the House overwhelmingly, then after some changes last week it passed the Senate unanimously. It’s back before the House, which could concur and send it to the governor or call for more work on differences with the Senate.
“I’ve had experience with losing a child,” said Baria, who praised the Montjoy family and friends’ efforts pushing for the legislation. “I know how difficult it is to deal with and how one thing you keep asking is is there something I can do to prevent this from happening to someone else. There is something we can do here.”
Senate changes to the bill include grandfathering of some fences and enclosures and giving those falling under the regulations until the beginning of next year to comply. Sens. Sean Tindell, R-Gulfport, and Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula, pushed the bill in the Senate and said some concessions were required for its passage, and that some Senate changes helped strengthen the bill. Baria said he’s still reviewing the Senate changes but is optimistic a strong law will be passed.
Tindell said one key factor was unaltered: pool enclosures will have to have self-closing and latching gates.
“I’ve got a 4-year-old,” Tindell told his fellow senators as he lobbied for the bill. “Last summer, he fell in the pool at my house. It happened so quickly. I didn’t even hear it. I just turned around. It can happen so quick.”
Some lawmakers questioned whether the bill is an “unfunded mandate” to pool owners, but the measure has had overwhelming, bipartisan support, and Tindell said most pools open to the public, tenants or club members already have enclosures that easily can be brought into compliance.
Some areas in Mississippi have building codes that require pool enclosures and other safety measures, and many insurance companies demand such safety features before they’ll cover an organization’s pool. Lawmakers said the Montjoy Act would allow any stricter codes to stay in force but would set a statewide minimum.
“I agree we don’t want an unfunded mandate, but the main purpose of this bill is child safety, and we need to keep the focus on that,” said Sen. Willie Simmons, D-Cleveland.
Lea Montjoy said her family has had an outpouring of community support, with friends starting a “Swing, Latch, Lock” pool safety campaign to put signs on pool gates, a Facebook page and and the William Lee Montjoy Children’s Education Fund through the Gulf Coast Community foundation. She’s also heard from people across the state who’ve noticed pools that don’t have adequate fencing or gates.
“I hope something positive comes,” Montjoy said. “My main goal is to prevent somebody else from feeling like me.”
Read more here: http://www.sunherald.com/2012/04/15/3883849/familys-tragedy-prompts-pool-safety.html#storylink=cpy
Showing posts with label pool safety. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pool safety. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
OC Teen Wins Patent For Pool Safety Device She Invented In 5th Grade
January 26, 2012 6:29 PM
IRVINE (CBS) — A 17-year-old senior at Woodbridge High School is exploring manufacturing possibilities for a pool safety device she invented in 5th grade.
Allison Plette invented Safe Filter after her older sister pretended to be caught in the filter of their family pool.
“She would pretend she was caught in the filter, cause we’d heard about it on the news,” Allison said. “It scared me and she’s an older sister and so that’s what she does.”
Allison used that fear to create Safe Filter, a pool drain safety device that prevents drowning in a pool or spa when hair or a bathing suit strap is caught in the filter. The filter has a blade that cuts any hair that could get caught.
The device won Allison the Greenberg Traurig patent winner at the 2005 Astounding Inventions Competition, held each year at Irvine Valley College. Fast forward seven years, and Allison was awarded Patent No. US 7,996,931 B2.
“She’s the kind of student that goes out of her way to do the best she can,” math teacher Kent Metfessel said. “She’s always had an innovative way to go about things.”
Besides inventing life-saving devices, Allison likes to help people in her spare time. Her pet project is a clothing closet near campus for people who don’t have the proper clothes for job interviews.
“It is a program for disabled adults or financially disadvantaged who are trying to apply for job but don’t have interview-appropriate clothing,” Allison said.
Allison’s parents are now working on finding a manufacturer to explore how viable marketing Safe Filter will be.
IRVINE (CBS) — A 17-year-old senior at Woodbridge High School is exploring manufacturing possibilities for a pool safety device she invented in 5th grade.
Allison Plette invented Safe Filter after her older sister pretended to be caught in the filter of their family pool.
“She would pretend she was caught in the filter, cause we’d heard about it on the news,” Allison said. “It scared me and she’s an older sister and so that’s what she does.”
Allison used that fear to create Safe Filter, a pool drain safety device that prevents drowning in a pool or spa when hair or a bathing suit strap is caught in the filter. The filter has a blade that cuts any hair that could get caught.
The device won Allison the Greenberg Traurig patent winner at the 2005 Astounding Inventions Competition, held each year at Irvine Valley College. Fast forward seven years, and Allison was awarded Patent No. US 7,996,931 B2.
“She’s the kind of student that goes out of her way to do the best she can,” math teacher Kent Metfessel said. “She’s always had an innovative way to go about things.”
Besides inventing life-saving devices, Allison likes to help people in her spare time. Her pet project is a clothing closet near campus for people who don’t have the proper clothes for job interviews.
“It is a program for disabled adults or financially disadvantaged who are trying to apply for job but don’t have interview-appropriate clothing,” Allison said.
Allison’s parents are now working on finding a manufacturer to explore how viable marketing Safe Filter will be.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Pool Safety A Step Towards Stopping Drownings
ROB BRADLEY
In the last 12 months, 28 Australian children under the age of five have drowned.
Most drowned in or around their own home. The Queensland Government has recently taken the bold move of implementing mandatory pool safety laws that include registering pools and spas and ensuring they meet with safety standards.
The criticism of being a nanny state was expected from some quarters, but I applaud the move.
Following Queensland's lead last February, which was strongly supported by Minister for Sport Mark Arbib, all states and territories agreed to work towards a nationally consistent best practice set of laws which was very pleasing. Royal Life Saving currently deals with eight different sets of legislation ranging from quite stringent to almost non-existent and it is incredibly difficult and confusing for everyone involved - not least the home pool owner. Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria are now very close to best practice but the others have some way to go to reach an acceptable level. Hats off to the South Australian, Tasmanian and ACT governments who have indicated strong support.
The current Australian Water Safety Strategy aims to achieve a 50 per cent reduction in child drowning by 2020 but we at Royal Life Saving have been striving to achieve a 100 per cent reduction for 15 years. To reach a zero drowning goal we need to put both simple and complex measures in place. Registering a pool and ensuring it is safe, is a simple measure.
If we look at the things we do know, then the solutions, or at least a way forward, often become obvious. And what we do know is that drowning is the leading cause of preventable death for children aged one to four across Australia. We also know that 85 per cent of home pools across Australia do not meet current safety standards.
Personal responsibility is well and good if people accept that responsibility. Unfortunately, the danger surrounding pools and fencing can be insidious: what may look safe may be far from it; corrosion, loose bolts, a faulty gate latch and so on, may creep in over a period of time and be unnoticeable to a casual observer. An increasing number of drowning deaths have occurred in recent years in exactly this way - when the parents thought their pool was safe - but it wasn't.
Mandatory compliance checks and the registering of pools and spas followed up by regular maintenance by home pool owners is just a simple way of ensuring the safety of Australian children.
Every year, those of us who own and drive cars undergo vehicle safety inspections and obey road rules, speed limits, seat-belt laws, child seat compliance, stay under .05 BAC, and avoid using our mobile phones while driving. Some would say that's the result of living in a nanny state; others would be glad such laws exist; those perhaps whose personal tragedy might have been avoided if those laws were in place earlier.
Michael and JoAnn Morris from the Samuel Morris Foundation understand. In 2006, their two-year-old son Samuel found his way into the backyard pool of the home they had recently moved into. Samuel pushed against a faulty section of the pool fence which gave way and gave him clear access to the pool. Samuel survived but the once bright, happy and cuddly child now has severe brain injury and disabilities that have destroyed his life.
Is complying with a pool safety check and registering a pool or spa, too much to ask? I don't think it is. But should pool safety be the responsibility of the Government or the responsibility of the pool owner? It is both - this is a community issue. The Government needs to ensure that the right things are being checked and by the right people; the pool owners need also to be vigilant and responsible.
However, with 85 per cent of home pools not meeting current safety standards - some don't even have fences - we need to accept that self-regulation alone doesn't work. Better education surrounding this issue may help, but considering that drowning continues to be a leading cause of death among our youngest children, we need to accept that stringent measures must be put in place.
Earlier this year, Royal Life Saving hosted the World Conference on Drowning Prevention in Vietnam. We chose to hold the conference in Vietnam to highlight the massive child drowning numbers in Asia. The number of children that drown in Australia in one year, a country like Bangladesh loses every single day. Most of those countries are in no position to implement anywhere near the safety and education standards surrounding swimming and water safety that we take for granted.
The work and research that Royal Life Saving and its partners have carried out in countries such as Vietnam, Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia and China, has irrefutably shown us that simple measures like supervision, the teaching of basic swimming and water safety skills, and placing a barrier between a child and the water, will dramatically decrease the number of child drowning deaths.
Unlike the countries mentioned above, Australia has a real opportunity to eradicate child drowning. If it takes mandatory pool safety legislation to do it, then so be it.
Rob Bradley is the CEO of the Royal Life Saving Society. More information can be found at: www.homepoolsafety.com.au. See Rob's full profile here.
In the last 12 months, 28 Australian children under the age of five have drowned.
Most drowned in or around their own home. The Queensland Government has recently taken the bold move of implementing mandatory pool safety laws that include registering pools and spas and ensuring they meet with safety standards.
The criticism of being a nanny state was expected from some quarters, but I applaud the move.
Following Queensland's lead last February, which was strongly supported by Minister for Sport Mark Arbib, all states and territories agreed to work towards a nationally consistent best practice set of laws which was very pleasing. Royal Life Saving currently deals with eight different sets of legislation ranging from quite stringent to almost non-existent and it is incredibly difficult and confusing for everyone involved - not least the home pool owner. Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria are now very close to best practice but the others have some way to go to reach an acceptable level. Hats off to the South Australian, Tasmanian and ACT governments who have indicated strong support.
The current Australian Water Safety Strategy aims to achieve a 50 per cent reduction in child drowning by 2020 but we at Royal Life Saving have been striving to achieve a 100 per cent reduction for 15 years. To reach a zero drowning goal we need to put both simple and complex measures in place. Registering a pool and ensuring it is safe, is a simple measure.
If we look at the things we do know, then the solutions, or at least a way forward, often become obvious. And what we do know is that drowning is the leading cause of preventable death for children aged one to four across Australia. We also know that 85 per cent of home pools across Australia do not meet current safety standards.
Personal responsibility is well and good if people accept that responsibility. Unfortunately, the danger surrounding pools and fencing can be insidious: what may look safe may be far from it; corrosion, loose bolts, a faulty gate latch and so on, may creep in over a period of time and be unnoticeable to a casual observer. An increasing number of drowning deaths have occurred in recent years in exactly this way - when the parents thought their pool was safe - but it wasn't.
Mandatory compliance checks and the registering of pools and spas followed up by regular maintenance by home pool owners is just a simple way of ensuring the safety of Australian children.
Every year, those of us who own and drive cars undergo vehicle safety inspections and obey road rules, speed limits, seat-belt laws, child seat compliance, stay under .05 BAC, and avoid using our mobile phones while driving. Some would say that's the result of living in a nanny state; others would be glad such laws exist; those perhaps whose personal tragedy might have been avoided if those laws were in place earlier.
Michael and JoAnn Morris from the Samuel Morris Foundation understand. In 2006, their two-year-old son Samuel found his way into the backyard pool of the home they had recently moved into. Samuel pushed against a faulty section of the pool fence which gave way and gave him clear access to the pool. Samuel survived but the once bright, happy and cuddly child now has severe brain injury and disabilities that have destroyed his life.
Is complying with a pool safety check and registering a pool or spa, too much to ask? I don't think it is. But should pool safety be the responsibility of the Government or the responsibility of the pool owner? It is both - this is a community issue. The Government needs to ensure that the right things are being checked and by the right people; the pool owners need also to be vigilant and responsible.
However, with 85 per cent of home pools not meeting current safety standards - some don't even have fences - we need to accept that self-regulation alone doesn't work. Better education surrounding this issue may help, but considering that drowning continues to be a leading cause of death among our youngest children, we need to accept that stringent measures must be put in place.
Earlier this year, Royal Life Saving hosted the World Conference on Drowning Prevention in Vietnam. We chose to hold the conference in Vietnam to highlight the massive child drowning numbers in Asia. The number of children that drown in Australia in one year, a country like Bangladesh loses every single day. Most of those countries are in no position to implement anywhere near the safety and education standards surrounding swimming and water safety that we take for granted.
The work and research that Royal Life Saving and its partners have carried out in countries such as Vietnam, Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia and China, has irrefutably shown us that simple measures like supervision, the teaching of basic swimming and water safety skills, and placing a barrier between a child and the water, will dramatically decrease the number of child drowning deaths.
Unlike the countries mentioned above, Australia has a real opportunity to eradicate child drowning. If it takes mandatory pool safety legislation to do it, then so be it.
Rob Bradley is the CEO of the Royal Life Saving Society. More information can be found at: www.homepoolsafety.com.au. See Rob's full profile here.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Pool safety is vital
12/05/2011
CHILDREN accidentally drowning in home swimming pools can be prevented.
There is an easy and not expensive way to stop the unnecessary death of children through drowning.
In 1962, I built a large swimming pool in my new home in Applecross.
We had a young family and I was determined they would learn to swim at a young age. It was easy – we bought a few kids life jackets.
Our family got used to the idea very quickly – no life jacket and you are not allowed inside the pool fence.
This was a strict rule applied to visitors’ children as well.
Our kids could swim well and truly before they went to school, as did a lot of our friends’ kids.
As we had one of the first private pools in Applecross, a lot of the local kids learnt to swim in it with a life jacket.
Our daughter, later in life, applied the same practice with her kids and visitors’ children with her pool.
One of the factors in deciding to build a pool – to have our kids swim at an early age – was that my wife lost her brother in a drowning accident when he was just nine.
Needless to say, neither my wife nor her brother could swim.
Another thing I believe in is to follow the belief of our great swimming coach Laurie Lawrence and teach your kids to swim when they are babies.
Even if you do not have children and have a pool, go out and buy a couple of children’s life jackets.
If my letter saves one life, the time I have taken to write it makes life worthwhile.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Is Your Swimming Pool Safe Year-round?
Marianna- Local water safety officials are warning homeowners about pool safety after two Florida toddlers lost their lives this week in separate drowning incidents.
Posted: 5:29 PM Nov 29, 2011Reporter: Bryan Anderson
Email Address: Bryan.Anderson@wjhg.com
Marianna- Chipola College Aquatics Director Rance Massengill said his heart goes out to the two separate families in Florida who lost toddlers to pool drownings Monday.
"We hate to hear it and we're thinking about those families," said Massengill.
According to authorities, both children fell into their families' pools, without anyone noticing.
"Drowing of children four and under is a very serious thing in the United States," said Massengill.
Massengill, who's been a water safety expert for years, said there are ways to stop these types of tragedies.
"The entire perimeter of the pool should be fenced off if you're trying to keep people out," said Massengill.
He also said pool covers can be effective but they must be weighed down. If someone does fall in the water, you must act fast.
"In a child that cannot swim, they'll be unconscious in less than one minute," said Massengill.
Massengill recommended throwing the victim a flotation device, only jumping in yourself if you have the proper training. Regardless, Massengill told News Channel 7 it should never come to that point.
"Having proper supervision at all times is the key to it," said Massengill.
Safety experts said kids can drown in as little as a few inches of water.
Source: http://www.wjhg.com/home/headlines/Is_Your_Swimming_Pool_Safe_Year-round_134712988.html
Monday, November 28, 2011
Safety barrier regulations explained in time for summer pool safety
by Infolink
Backyard pool safety continues to be a prevalent issue this summer with many pool owners still unaware of safety barrier regulations, and drowning still one of the most common causes of preventable death for children under 5 years of age in Australia.
Essentially, any excavation or structure with the capacity to hold a body of water greater than 300mm, used principally for swimming, wading or paddling, requires a safety barrier. This may include in-ground swimming pools, indoor pools, above-ground pools, jacuzzis, spas, inflatable pools and hot tubs, and excludes fish ponds, bird baths and dams (any structure that is not capable of containing a depth of water greater than 300mm).
The Swimming Pools Act 1992, Swimming Pools Regulation 2008, the Australian Standards 1926.1, Australian Standards 2610.1, and Australian Standards 2610.2 all express that requirements for child-resistant barriers vary according to the location of the pool and when it was built.
Local councils are responsible for enforcing the following regulations and can issue on the spot fines for certain failures to comply:
- If constructed before August 1, 1990, access to the swimming pool from the house must be restricted at all times. Any doors or windows which form part of the pool yard must be kept closed and locked at all times
- Pools built after August 1, 1990 and before July 1, 2010 must be surrounded by a fence which separates the pool from the house. Exemptions apply depending on the size of the property
- With the introduction of the Building Code of Australia 2010, all pools built after July 1, 2010 must be surrounded by a fence which separates the pool from the house. No exemptions apply
Not even a fully compliant barrier system can be considered childproof and proper adult supervision is the key to ensuring the safety of children around a swimming pool or spa area. However, enforcing a consistent inspection system can go along way to preventing injury or death:
- Maintain safety components of gates, doors and windows, including self-closers, latches, flyscreens, catches, and bolts
- Ensure there are no chairs, boxes, pool pumps, tree branches, pot plants, or other objects near the fence that could be used to climb over
- All fences (especially timber paling fences) should be in good repair and non-climbable
- Ensure all gates and doors that provide access to the swimming pool or spa are closed at all times, except when entering or leaving the area
- Neighbours’ properties adjoining a swimming pool should be inspected for potential hazards or climbable objects (where applicable)
28.11.2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
New safety measures at Harpenden Swimming Pool
St Albans City and District Council has installed an underwater camera safety system at Harpenden Swimming Pool as part of ongoing measures to help improve pool safety.
The operation and safety of all Council-owned pools is regularly looked at and it has been decided that to improve systems a PoolView Drowning Prevention System will be installed. This devise is designed to help reduce the risk of injury and drowning.
This technology is in use in many public swimming pools around the country and is gradually becoming a standard pool safety measure. The system uses an underwater camera to relay images to a monitor attached to the lifeguards' chair. It helps the lifeguards to provide an even better service while on poolside and will give swimmers additional peace of mind.
The lifeguards' monitor displays eight underwater views allowing them to observe the full water volume within the pool as part of their normal lifeguarding procedures. As is standard practice, images are protected and managed in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act.
Councillor Mike Wakely, Portfolio Holder for Sport, Leisure and Heritage at St Albans City and District Council, said: "As a council, we take the safety and security of our customers very seriously and this new system will help improve safety at Harpenden Swimming Pool by enabling the lifeguards to monitor activity within the pool effectively."
Scott Machen, Contract Manager, at Leisure Connection, the company which manages Harpenden Swimming Pool on behalf of the Council, said: "This new system will give the lifeguards extra visibility on what is happening in the pool and will help them protect customers from any risk of injury or drowning."
A similar pool system will also be installed at the new Westminster Lodge Leisure Centre which is due to be completed in late 2012.
Friday, November 18, 2011
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