Pool safety measures to keep kids and adults safe

SAN ANTONIO- While some people may feel more rules or regulations are necessary to prevent drownings, others say good old-fashioned common sense is just as important if not better for prevention of such accidents.

“I have friends who believe in the political aspect and ordinances and laws and that kind of stuff, honestly I don’t,” says Joe Byrd founder of the Miss Tristan Foundation.

8 years ago, Byrd’s daughter Tristan drowned in the family pool. She was only 2 years old. Since then, he’s devoted his life to drowning prevention through the Miss Tristan Foundation.

“For me, it’s teaching the child to swim, that’s the first step, and teach them the rules, wear of life jacket, always talk to your parents,” says Byrd.

Byrd not only works to add water safety to Pre-K curriculum in San Antonio schools, but the foundation also works with pool and fence companies to make pool barriers and gate/door alarms affordable.

“I have a fence around the pool, I have a fence around the patio but like I said I have grandsons,” says Byrd.

While Byrd believes ordinances and safety measures are important, they don’t stop little kids from getting in the water.

“Little boys in particular will see these chairs and these pots and these buckets they’ll use all that to help defeat the fence,” says Byrd.

We did a little digging and discovered in the city of San Antonio, based on the 2021 International codes, any pool built in 2021 and after must include the following: If a building or home has a pool without a barrier, there are requirements for door and window sensors that activate when they are opened to alert occupants in the building or home.

The state has additional requirements for barriers specifically for commercial pools.

There are electrical protections in place, such as grounding and listed equipment, to minimize the risk of electric shock.

Plumbing requirements are established to prevent entrapment by the pool drainage system.

It is important to note that these adopted city codes apply exclusively to construction within the city limits.

For homes or pools built before 2021, these codes do not apply.

“Pass any law you want people are still gonna do wat they want to do and little kids if they get something in their mind and they want to be in something their gonna get there,” says Byrd.

This year, there have been six drownings reported in Bexar County just since April. Three adults , three kids. In April , an elderly man on the south side fell into a pool while trying to clean it. In June, a man drowned in a pool on the north side. And earlier this month, a woman also drowned in a pool on the north side.