Chief Fritz: Children Can Drown Without Making a Sound

, Richfield Patch briefly talked with Director about pool safety.

"The drowning was very sad," Fritz said. "Children should never be left unattended without adult supervision around water. They can drown without making a sound and in one foot of water."

Fritz admitted that he wasn't a pool safety expert and went on to refer to a fact sheet from ABCPoolSafety.org, which identifies ways to prevent pool accidents through adult supervision, setting up barriers and even taking safety classes.

The following are the details on pool safety provided by ABCPoolSafety.org:

A = Adult Supervision

• Assign an adult to supervise children in and around the swimming pool. This is needed whether there is one parent or guardian present or numerous adults present such as during a family event or party.
• Maintain constant eye-to-eye supervision with children in and around the swimming pool and spa.
• Remove children from the swimming pool and spa area for any distraction such as a telephone call, use of restroom, etc.
• Issue the adult supervisor an item such as a whistle, bracelet, etc. to reinforce which adult is in charge of the safety of the children.
• Floaties or other inflatable flotation devices are not life jackets and should never be substituted for adult supervision.
• Ensure any adult responsible for the children know the emergency services telephone number and also your location address in the event emergency personnel are needed to be called to the scene.

B = Barriers

• Have a fence enclosure that isolates your swimming pool from the home, play areas, front and side yards and the neighbor’s yard.
• Make sure all gates in the isolation fence are self-closing and self-latching.
• Multiple layers of barriers isolating the pool and spa from children should be installed. In addition to an isolation fence, one or more of the following safety features can provide the additional protection necessary:

1. Approved swimming pool safety cover;

2. Approved swimming pool alarm;

3. Exit alarms on doors providing access to the swimming pool;

4. Doors providing access to the swimming pool equipped to be self-closing and self-latching with a release mechanism high enough to be out of the reach of a child;

6. Perimeter yard fence provided with a self-closing and self-latching gate.

• All chairs, tables, large toys or other objects that would allow a child to climb up to reach the gate latch or enable the child to climb over the isolation fence should be removed or kept inside the fenced area.

C = Crazy

• Learn how to perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).
• Enroll your child in swimming lessons.

The Hennepin County Sheriffs Office was still investigating the drowning incident as of Monday. Richfield Patch will update readers as new information becomes available.