need your opinion

RE: need your opinion

Former Member — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 16:26:20 GMT

In 1993 our coach forced the whole team to swim the 1500 at a swimmeet in First Colony Texas. One of the guys got smart a false started to get out of it. And then as they were doing the start reset lightening struck the middle of the pool. Swimmers may have died accept for the false start. Crazy. Also about a year ago a pastor died doing a baptism with a wireless mic. You cannot be too safe about this. We really need a crack pipe smiley.

RE: need your opinion

Former Member — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:30:54 GMT

RE: need your opinion

Former Member — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 13:25:03 GMT

If you have a complaint call the health department first, then the electric company. I have seen pools closed for less.

RE: need your opinion

Former Member — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 13:17:02 GMT

They were convinced there were noxious pool fumes and the possibility of being gassed to death. As it turns out the lifeguard had just put on some cocoa butter lotion which they confused with serin nerve gas. Our pool is five feet away an none of us smelled it. Crazy - every last one of them. GEEK?????????? Cocoa butter???????? but, but, but, but that smells kinda good. I'll agree with you on this one, Crazy every last one of them.

RE: need your opinion

Rob Copeland — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 12:11:05 GMT

Also about a year ago a pastor died doing a baptism with a wireless mic. You cannot be too safe about this. How could a wireless mike kill you anyway, they run on two double A batteries. The pastor was killed by a meteor. He just happened to be doing a baptism at the time.

RE: need your opinion

aquageek — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 10:57:02 GMT

OK, this isn't about lightning hitting a pool or about a tiny baptismal and a wireless mike. It is about whether the fan was properly grounded and whether it should be pool side. I don't think anyone would argue that you shouldn't be in an outside pool during a storm or submerge yourself in a bathtub with microphone on. How could a wireless mike kill you anyway, they run on two double A batteries. I have updated noodling news - just for The Bug. Yesterday, a couple of the noodlers began gesticulating wildly to the lifeguard staff. I looked over and first wondered if a drowning was occuring. They were convinced there were noxious pool fumes and the possibility of being gassed to death. As it turns out the lifeguard had just put on some cocoa butter lotion which they confused with serin nerve gas. Our pool is five feet away an none of us smelled it. Crazy - every last one of them.

RE: need your opinion

Frank Thompson — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 08:25:43 GMT

Related story about this subject. Brooke Hansen received an electric shock. www.swimnews.com/.../displayStory.jhtml

RE: need your opinion

Former Member — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 05:49:21 GMT

www.cbsnews.com/.../main995829.shtml But it wasn't wireless.

RE: need your opinion

Former Member — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 05:31:34 GMT

I have a question on this subject. I have been in the Gulf of Mexico a lot, even during storms. I know the gulf was hit by lightning when I was in it. I'm still alive. That means at some point, the electricity is defused by the water. So if the fan had fallen into the large pool, would anyone been hurt?

RE: need your opinion

aquageek — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 01:34:33 GMT

So if the fan had fallen into the large pool, would anyone been hurt? Only if a pastor was in the water.

RE: need your opinion

Former Member — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 15:26:49 GMT

"Lightning and Aquatics Safety: A Cautionary Perspective for Indoor Pools": www.lightningsafety.com/.../indoor_pools.html " National Athletic Trainers' Association Position Statement: Lightning Safety for Athletics and Recreation": www.nata.org/.../lightning.pdf -- I understand it can happen, but what are the chances out of 100 or 1000 that something wil happen. I mean you can choke on anything you put in your mouth but we eat every day...blessed that we are. I just think if there is a storm fine but when it's miles away from the pool it's a real overreaction. I told the YMCA "I promise not to sue if I'm dead."

RE: need your opinion

Former Member — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 14:31:07 GMT

But if it's anything like the facilities I used to work for, they aren't going to go through a capital expenditure repair/upgrade to improve something they considered intangible like the air quality inside the pool......

RE: need your opinion

Former Member — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 13:13:48 GMT

Oh PS: Hot in its other meaning also applies here too LOL! I was anticipating a comment like that. :D

RE: need your opinion

Former Member — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 12:37:12 GMT

Oh PS: Hot in its other meaning also applies here too

RE: need your opinion

Former Member — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 12:36:44 GMT

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). "Lightning and Aquatics Safety: A Cautionary Perspective for Indoor Pools": www.lightningsafety.com/.../indoor_pools.html " National Athletic Trainers' Association Position Statement: Lightning Safety for Athletics and Recreation": www.nata.org/.../lightning.pdf --

RE: need your opinion

Former Member — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 12:36:19 GMT

I can understand the guard being hot too, but isn't that kinda part of the job... sitting or standing in the hot sun or under an umbrella, or on a guard chair in a stuffy indoor pool? Geek is going to love this! When our pool was remodeled several years ago they increased the size of the exhaust fan (which wasn't on today) at the end of the building and put in 6 roof ventilaters. The darn room drew like a chimney... hair would fly in the indoor air currents. After about a month of the noodlers and mother/baby classes complaining about the breeze because they were cold, the roof ventilaters were permamently closed. Lainey

RE: need your opinion

Allen Stark — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 11:03:10 GMT

Noodlers or not,air quality in the pool is something they should be worried about.I was just reading an article on pool air. If the air isn't circulated well the risk of asthma and other breathing problems is much more of a hazard than electric shock.:notworking:

RE: need your opinion

FindingMyInnerFish — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 10:27:42 GMT

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..... Oh in my roundabout way, I think my point was that a better ventilation system would both help the lifeguard stay cool safely and protect swimmers as well, a win-win situation. But probably should have made myself clearer on this aspect. Must have been that "hot" lifeguard distracting me, heh! :D

RE: need your opinion

Former Member — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 10:05:15 GMT

I would not sweat electrical issue. As for the guard being hot (temperature wise I mean), it's pretty hard to tell somebody that it's not hot and that it must be in their head. The indoor pool I used to swim at was notoriously hot and stuffy. I can certainly understand why a guard might want a fan at an indoor pool.

RE: need your opinion

smontanaro — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:56:03 GMT

I don't have any pity on a lifeguard getting hot. I was a lifeguard in college. Outdoors. In the winter. Granted, it was a Los Angeles winter, but it still felt frickin' cold! Spent most of my breaks in the shower trying to heat up. I'll take hot any day. At least you can swim on your breaks to cool off... Skip Montanaro

RE: need your opinion

Former Member — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:53:30 GMT

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

RE: need your opinion

Former Member — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:04:03 GMT

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.....

RE: need your opinion

Former Member — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:03:48 GMT

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

RE: need your opinion

Former Member — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 08:20:53 GMT

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.

RE: need your opinion

Former Member — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 08:10:33 GMT

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.....