The tragic case of the Delta, B.C. tots who remain in critical condition after falling into a backyard pool on Sunday, reinforces the need for parents to take precautions to keep their children safe.
Neighbours say three-year-old Andrew and two-year-old Timothy ventured out of sight during a party. One of the boys was found floating in a backyard pool.
It took several minutes before the lifeless body of the second toddler was discovered on the bottom of the murky pool.
The images are heartbreaking and bring back memories for Stephanie Brennan.
"When I grew up, I had a pool and I had a brother with down's syndrome and he lowered himself into the pool and we found him in the nick of time,'' she said.
Under Delta's bylaws, all pools must be fenced, or have a locking cover.
Only one per cent of existing pools and 10 per cent of new pools in British Columbia have locking covers. In Salt Lake City, 98 per cent of pools have locking covers, and France has just introduced a bylaw making the covers mandatory.
Some say they would love to see pool covers made mandatory in B.C.
"We would love to see every pool with some sort of safety cover whether it's ours or someone elses,'' said Allan Horwood of pool cover installer Pool Patrol
Even though a pool cover can be only about four millimetres thick, it is designed to prevent a child from accessing the water. It's so strong even an adult can't slip in.
But locking covers alone don't guarantee adequate protection.
Horwood said parents can make their children safer by also installing perimeter fencing, self latching gates, alarms, buzzers on gates, locked gates.
A 2007 coroner's report on drowning recommends:
Active supervision by relatives, who are advised to stay within reach or sight of a child at all times
Parents are also advised to get trained in CPR, have an emergency plan, and to isolate the swimming pool by creating barriers around it.
With a report by CTV British Columbia's Carrie Stefanson
