Diving Into Pool Safety

The high temperatures means high sales at pool places like Mobley's in Bryan. But that also bring safety to the forefront when it comes to keeping kids safe.

"The state and city have codes, and basically, the cities have adopted the state codes," said Gary Mobley, the store's owner. "You have to have a barrier around a pool. A fence is considered a barrier. The state code says 54 inches. All the gates have to be self-closing, self-latching.

"The house is no longer considered a barrier," he said, "so any door entering into the backyard has to have a beeper or the same thing, self-closing, self-latching."

The most recent statistics from the CDC are from 2000, when there were over 3,000 unintentional drownings, or an average of nine each day. And for every child that drowns, three receive emergency treatment.

For kids between the ages of one and four, the majority of drownings happen in residential pools, with most kids having left their homes, out of sight for less than five minutes.

Of course, there are usually a large amount of people at public pools, but the need for rules and safety are still necessary.

"We want to make sure that everybody's safe by walking, because this deck gets wet, we don't want anyone to slip and fall," said lifeguard Sarah Murray at the Bryan Aquatic Center. "If you have young children, we ask that the parents are in the water with them, monitoring them, making sure they're OK. Always swim with somebody you know in case you do need help, they're there and can get a lifeguard's attention if they need to.

"We just ask that everybody makes sure that they know the rules and acknowledge them and follow them when they come to our facility," she said.

And if the weather stays the same, the crowds could continue to grow, at your local pool, or in your own backyard.