By D& D Technologies
Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional death in children ages 1 – 4 years, with an average of 11 fatal and 22 non-fatal drownings per day. In addition, 70 percent of child drownings happen during nonswim times. Childrens’ curiosity naturally draws them to the backyard swimming pool, and the majority of children who drown most commonly gain access to the pool area through a faulty (or non-existent) fence or gate. The National Drowning Prevention Alliance (NDPA) has developed the 5 layers of protection to help reduce the risk of child drowning.
The first and most important layer is a barrier that limits access and an alarm to alert of any unplanned access to the pool area. Fencing provides a barrier that works 24/7, but a fence is only effective if the gate and gate hardware are in good working order — a properly functioning gate can help prevent drownings. Checking the pool gate is vital to drowning prevention, yet only 30 percent of pool owners check the safety of their pool gate once a year. Recognizing the need to create awareness of this problem and provide education on how to check and maintain a pool gate, D& D Technologies has brought together the NDPA and several nonprofit organizations to establish the Check Your Pool Gate Month beginning the first day of May.
Check Your Pool Gate Month was created to remind pool owners of the vital need to ensure pool fences, gates, latches and hinges are secure and in top working order, with the aim to reduce child drownings by making it harder for them to access the pool. Every pool owner should be confident they have a safe swimming zone. For every child who dies of drowning, another 7 experience a non-fatal drowning — 40 percent of these children require further care. A few minutes is all it takes for pool owners to check their pool fence and gate, and this simple routine done regularly could help save the life of a child.
Safety Checklist for Pool Gates
• Gate should open outwards, away from the pool.
• Gate latch release knob should be out of reach of children under 5. (Check local codes/standards from minimum requirements.)
• Fence should be at a minimum height to comply with your region and encompass the pool area. (Check local codes/standards for minimum requirements.)
• Maximum clearance from finished ground surface is no more than 4 feet (100 mm).
• Fence perimeter must have adequate distance from other climbable objects or structures.
• Gate must be self-closing and self-latching.
• Gate hinges are reliable, selfclosing, tension-adjustable, rust free and bind free.
• Gate latch must be adjustable for height and width.
• Gate latch cannot be key locked in the “open” position.
• Gate latch cannot be opened using implements or force.
• Gate will shut and latch securely from any position, including from resting on the latching mechanism.
• Gate complies with all relevant United States Codes/Standards and legislation for pool safety.
The Pool and Fence industries play a critical role in the effort to save lives as they communicate directly with customers. A few important points to communicate to customers are the importance of checking the pool fence and gate on a regular basis to make sure all are in good working order — reminding the customer a gate that is not self-closing and self-latching provides instant and often undetected access to the pool area. Also, provide the items on the checklist to check and communicate the significance of installing the safest, most advanced latches and hinges available, considering the hardware’s vital role in protecting children.
The MagnaLatch gate latch and TruClose gate hinge, invented by D& D Technologies, meet all international and local pool safety codes, as well as fulfill all the safety checklist’s requirements. The MagnaLatch is a reliable, adjustable and magnetically triggered self- latching safety gate latch. TruClose
are self-closing, adjustable, polymer safety gate hinges.
The MagnaLatch ALERT is D& D’s latest pool safety innovation, providing both audible and visual alarms if the gate is left open or not physically latched. Pool owners can see at a glance and hear from a distance if their pool gate is not latched properly.
Together MagnaLatch and TruClose are the world’s most trusted pool safety hardware system, having been installed on gates for more than 35 years and saving countless lives.
You are encouraged to support the ‘Check Your Pool Gate Month’ campaign by following D& D’s social platforms and sharing their posts and by announcing the start of the campaign and posting the safety checklist for pool gates on your website.
For more information on pool safety and compliance visit: https:// us.ddtech.com/pages/national-checkyour- pool-gate-month-consumer, https://us.ddtech.com/pages/poolsafety- compliance and www.ndpa.org.
For more information on the Layer of Protection visit: https://ndpa.org/ layers/.
