Be safe around the pool
Springs - Since its summer and soon schools will close for the Christmas holidays, children will be spending more time by the pool side.
To prevent any unwanted accidents, spokesperson of the Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS), William Ntladi, advises parents and guardians to keep their pool areas safe so children are not in danger of drowning.
Here are eight safety guidelines to keep children safe around the pool area:
n Install a four-sided fence around swimming pools.
n The fencing around the pool must be high enough to keep children from climbing over it and it must have a self-latching gate that is out of reach of children.
n Around the swimming pool, there should not be any items nearby that would allow children to climb up over the fence to access the pool.
n Other children in the neighbourhood should not have access to the yard as this will lure them to jump over the boundary fence into the premises to access the swimming pool.
n Pool covers, door alarms and pool alarms work well in conjunction with fences but they are not substitute for a fence.
n Swimming pools should be covered with a pool-net at all times whenever not in use.
n Keep toys away from the swimming pool and its surrounds when not being used.
n Inflatables or floating devices are not substitutions for life jackets.
They are not meant to be used as safety devices.
