CHESAPEAKE, Va. - With summer quickly approaching, many families are opening up their backyard pool.
However, taking a dip can be dangerous if you don't follow proper pool safety procedures. Pool accidents claim the lives of thousands of children every year. It's a problem paramedics see more of during the summer
Staff from East Coast Leisure inspected homeowner Julie Umphlett's newly installed pool to make sure it's safe.
“In-ground pools, for the most part, require fences around the perimeter of the pool with a locking,” East Coast Leisure Owner Todd Glaser said. “The electricity has to be bonded.”
Glaser says a locking fence is just one of the many national and local safety codes required for pool installation. He says pool safety codes aren`t always followed.
“Every year, there's a story that's a tragedy,” Glaser said.
In April, a three-year-old drowned in her neighbor's pool in Virginia Beach.
“I don't know anybody personally, but they all feel personal,” Umphlett said. “I mean, I can't even imagine the loss of a child.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 3,500 kids die in unintentional drownings.
The CDC says they're mostly under the age of 14.
Virginia Beach EMS officials say they don’t respond to drownings often, but one is too many.
“A lot of the times, it's people not watching their children to be honest with you,” Brigade Chief Michael Lewis said. “They're caught up, they're having a barbecue outside. They don't really have someone supervising the children.”
Lewis says teaching your kids how to swim and use CPR is the best prevention.
As for Umphlett, with all the safety features in tact, she's ready for some fun in the sun.
