Pool Alarms No Substitute for Barriers, Vigilance

These pool safety guidelines were compiled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

• Fences and walls should be at least 4 feet high and installed completely around the pool. Fence gates should be self-closing and self-latching. The latch should be out of a small child's reach.
  
  
• If your house forms one side of the barrier to the pool, then doors leading from the house to the pool should be protected with alarms that produce a sound when a door is unexpectedly opened.
  
  
• A power safety cover -- a motor-powered barrier that can be placed over the water area -- can be used when the pool is not in use.
  
  
• For above-ground pools, steps and ladders to the pool should be secured and locked, or removed when the pool is not in use.
  
  
• If a child is missing, always look in the pool first. Seconds count in preventing death or disability. Keep rescue equipment by the pool, and be sure a phone is poolside with emergency numbers posted. You or someone in your household should know CPR.
  
  
• Pool alarms can be used as an added precaution. Underwater pool alarms generally perform better and can be used in conjunction with pool covers. CPSC advises that consumers use remote alarm receivers so the alarm can be heard inside the house or in other places away from the pool area.

CPSC offers three free publications consumers can use to help prevent child drowning: "Safety Barrier Guidelines for Pools," "How to Plan for the Unexpected" and "Guidelines for Entrapment Hazards: Making Pools and Spas Safer." Some localities have incorporated the CPSC guidelines into their building codes and regulations.

Copies of these publications can be obtained on CPSC's website, or by writing to "Pool Safety", CPSC, Washington, D.C., 20207.

Pool Alarms No Substitute for Barriers, Vigilance

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