Pond Safety & Rescue
Posted by Jeff Kennedy on Mon, May 10, 2010 @ 11:53 AM
Pond Safety should be at the forefront of every pond owners, pond management strategy.
Thousands of people die and are injured each year from drowning and diving accidents; the majority of which are children or adolescents. Many of these tragic incidents could have been avoided with a proactive approach to pond safety.
Pond safety signs, rescue gear, immersion alarms and fencing are just a few tools to reduce the potential for injury or drowning.
Signs can give notice of shallow or deep water, thin ice conditions, pond use restrictions or other warnings that are relevant to your body of water.
Pond rescue equipment should be at the shoreline and according to Mississippi State Extension, a pond rescue post is recommended. The post should be a 10-12 foot long and be painted yellow with the words Rescue Post in black. Attached should be a Life Preserver, a ring buoy or float, emergency numbers and a 10-20 Rescue Pole.
Recently a new product hit the pond market, the LifeLine Rescue Station. An Indiana Department of Natural Resources Officer, who developed this device after having to recover pond-drowning victims, designed this innovative product. Comprised of a pole-mounted enclosure that houses a state of the art water rescue bag, the LifeLine Rescue Station is today's version of a rescue pole.
An Immersion Alarm, such as the Safety Turtle is designed to alert you when the wearer enters the water. The Turtle is a wrist worn transmitter that sends a signal to a base station alarm. This is perfect to protect a toddler, teen or Alzheimer's patient around ponds, pools or water gardens.
Most municipalities require fencing around pools and should be considered for ponds and water gardens to help limit access and the potential for a tragedy.
A proactive pond safety strategy is simple, low cost and will save you the heartache of a tragedy occurring in your pond, pool or water garden.