Friendly Notice about Pool Safety

Dear Neighbors

In the past 10 years, five young children have drowned in residential pools in the Memorial Villages.  As a parent of three children, I cannot imagine such a tragedy; therefore, we at Bunker Hill, along with the Memorial Villages Police Department and the Village Fire Department appeal to you to exercise proper pool safety and to educate yourself regarding the legal requirements and responsibilities of pool ownership.

Drowning is reported to be the leading cause of death among children less than five years of age.  If you have children in that age group and a swimming pool or spa, the possibility of such a tragedy occurring is too great to postpone taking action!  It takes only 2-3 minutes for a child to be under water for major brain damage and even death to occur.

Approximately 75% of the homes in Bunker Hill Village have a pool and/or spa.  As soon as your child can crawl, you must take steps to prevent them from gaining access to your pool.  Also, encourage your neighbors to follow pool safety guidelines, including keeping their back gates and doors locked, and their pool gates securely closed and latched.

State law requires the following:

• All pools be fenced to a height of at least 48” with no openings greater than 4”;
• All gates entering the pool area must be self-latching, self closing and have a latch inside that is at least 48” above the ground; and
• If a back wall of the home serves as part of the pool enclosure, all of the doors exiting into the pool area must be equipped with an audible alarm that “beeps” whenever the door is opened.  DO NOT disarm this safety feature.  In my case, I had different locks put on any door that accessed the pool and kept these doors locked at all times, with the exception of when we were in the pool.

While no pool alarm is a substitute for adult supervision, when properly used, a pool alarm will alert you to possible danger in the swimming pool. Contact your pool service company for available safety products.

If you would like for our Building Official in Bunker Hill to check your home for safety recommendations and compliance, please do not hesitate to call City Hall.

Thanks for your attention to this very important neighborhood issue.