so I'm tired as all get out of the kids in the outdoor pool getting in the lap lanes:frustrated: But that isn't my gripe. Decided that I would go back to the indoor pool today. Our indoor pool has a fairly high-A line type of roof. When I walk into the pool area one of the guards has an electric fan hooked up by an extension cord on the deck (not exactly in water, but water around/close to it) pointing up at him in the guard chair. I question him about the safety of that and his reply was that he was hot. I'm sure it is a lot hotter up in the chair than on the deck, but..... I went to the pool office and looked for the aquatics manager and she was at the other pool. I went up front to find some other management and according to everyone I talked to, no one was in their office. I decided not to swim today. For those of you who are familiar with pool safety, do you think I was over reacting?
Lainey
I've been to many pools where they have one of those big industrial fans by an open door to get some air either in or out and never really thought twice about it. If it is away from the water, using a heavy duty extension cord and plugged into a GFI outlet, you are probably as safe as you are gonna get. I probably would question a regular box fan hooked into a wall outlet right next to the pool, that would worry me also, although not enough to get out.
I don't have any pity on a lifeguard getting hot. What's next, will he/she complain about getting wet?
I'd feel the same way, and also upset that no one was around to respond to your concerns. That's not right.
You might try e-mailing the management and
(a) telling them that the lack of some kind of built in fan/ventilation is going to tempt lifeguards to use whatever means they can to cool off, and that therefore
(b) you strongly, for safety reasons recommend that they improve ventilation at the pool, but meanwhile that
(c) they do NOT allow use of fans on the pool deck... and in this section, mention that you'd hate to see someone get hurt or even killed and throw in the word "liability."
I bet once they get to item C, the fan will be out of there in a flash.
Counterpoint…
Yes, you may have overreacted. But how would you have known. And you should absolutely have pointed it out the pool management.
Any electrical outlet in the relative proximity of a swimming pool MUST be on a ground fault interrupt (GFI) circuit. So unless the guard had the fan on say a real long foot extension cord from a non-GFI circuit you are safe. And even if the fan was on a non-GFI circuit and the fan went into the water with you your chance of receiving a major electrical shock before the circuit breaks are practically none.
And how many of us have an electric pace clock standing next to the pool or the guards are playing a radio? If the pool was constructed to code, you are safe.
so I'm tired as all get out of the kids in the outdoor pool getting in the lap lanes:frustrated: But that isn't my gripe. Decided that I would go back to the indoor pool today. Our indoor pool has a fairly high-A line type of roof. When I walk into the pool area one of the guards has an electric fan hooked up by an extension cord on the deck (not exactly in water, but water around/close to it) pointing up at him in the guard chair. I question him about the safety of that and his reply was that he was hot. I'm sure it is a lot hotter up in the chair than on the deck, but..... I went to the pool office and looked for the aquatics manager and she was at the other pool. I went up front to find some other management and according to everyone I talked to, no one was in their office. I decided not to swim today. For those of you who are familiar with pool safety, do you think I was over reacting?
Lainey
not at all Lainey
They boot us out of our indoor pool if they see lightning...the likelyhood of lighting finding it's way to the pool building then through a window into the water is or whatever is low. They empty us out though for fear of "liability" (thanks lawyers).
You didn't overreact..that fan is blantantly more dangerous and immediate than a lightning strike; what if a kid pulls the fan into the water, or something else causes it to get wet? The fan mounted on a wall is not so bad but on the deck by the pool seems obviously dangerous...even if only for cluttering.
Gee, may I be blunt? Not no, but HECK NO you were not out of line. Unless that cord is plugged into one of the special type outlets that immediately switches off, if it were to get kicked in the pool and you are swimming in there....You're not going to be swimming anymore, anywhere and you'll either be on one of your relatives fireplace mantles as a small box of ashes or in the box.
Very, very, very dangerous stuff there.....
well that was the thing, I wasn't sure if it was plug into a special outlet. And the guard didn't offer anythink like "it is pluged into a......"
just scared the you know what out of me.
Ditto on what Rob said...
Chances are...the outlets at the pool are all GFI's...unless the facility pre-dates certain code requirements.
Electrocution occurs in bath tubs because the person becomes a conductor for the flow. This is why hair dryers have GFI's installed on them.
In a pool however...the water becomes an insulator...and the current 'flow' isn't as direct... unless one's hands were placed directly on the cord. Then again, assuming you don't have an old facility...the GFI outlet would shut down instantly ...if the current came into contact with water.
Either way...the lifeguards should get a reprimand. (I'm a registered architect...which is why I know this could potentially be a bad scenario.)
Electrical safety: The state safety codes from the Departments of Public Health require all outlets be protected by Ground Fault Interrupters (GFI’s). Even though these are required, only battery operated devices should be on the pool deck or near the water. A routine maintenance schedule should be kept to document the inspection of all equipment that is part of the pool or facility operation.
www.usaswimming.org/.../ViewNewsArticle.aspx
I'd feel the same way, and also upset that no one was around to respond to your concerns. That's not right.
You might try e-mailing the management and
(a) telling them that the lack of some kind of built in fan/ventilation is going to tempt lifeguards to use whatever means they can to cool off, and that therefore.....
.
Not to side with the guards, or this particular one as it wasn't a smart move, but having been a pool supervisor throughout all my college years, and to attack the root cause of the problem...... you may want to express your concern for the guard's well being :rolleyes: and management's control over this so that their staff can concentrate and continue to do "a good job" (being overly diplomatic in this case). It's the manager's responsibility and they first need to train ALL the aquatic staff on electrical safety esp around water (as I've seen this with the water aerobics instructors plugging in boom boxes on the pool deck next to puddles of water!) , and then they may need to rotate the guard off stand if even for a few minutes to get into the pool or go get some water. (although if the kid had time to get down and go get a fan plugged in....) Who knows, maybe their supervisor has allowed and/or suggested this as a possible solution to the guard for being too warm on the deck.....
thanks everyone for the input. I do plan to get in touch with the aquatics director. She and I are pretty good friends. The pool is very good about rotating the guards... every 15 minutes they move to the next station, or into the office for a break. That was another reason I was confused about the fan... can't you handle 15 minutes of heat... and most of the heat rises all the way up to the ceiling that is at least 2 stories.
thanks again everyone!
Lainey
