2. Always keep your eyes on the child or children. Designate a child watcher, whether you or someone else, when you attend a party or have friends or family over.

3. Talk with baby-sitters about pool safety, supervision and drowning prevention.

4. Post rules such as "No running," "No pushing," "No dunking" and "Never swim alone." Enforce the rules.

5. Don't rely on swimming lessons or "floaties" to protect your children in the water.

6. Don't assume that drowning or a drowning incident couldn't happen to you or your family.

7. Don't have a false sense of security just because you think your pool area and home are secure. Always watch your children, whether in the house or outside.

8. Attend a CPR class. Make sure your baby-sitter knows CPR.

9. For the nearest cardiopulmonary resuscitation class, contact your fire department, Red Cross or hospital.

10. Encourage your neighbors to follow pool safety guidelines, including keeping their back gates and doors locked, and their pool gates securely closed and latched.

1. Regularly check that the gate latches securely and that spring mechanisms work properly. Regularly oil the hinges and latches.

2. Don't allow children to play in the pool area. Remove all toys, tricycles - anything a child might want to get - from the vicinity.

3. Post CPR instructions and the 911 emergency number in the pool area.

4. Keep lifesaving equipment, such as a pole, life preserver and rope - in the pool area. Hang them from the fence so people won't trip on them.

5. Have a phone handy to the pool area. Do not answer the phone while your children are in the pool; use the phone only to call 911 should a problem occur.

Pool products, such as pool and gate alarms, may help prevent drownings, but they are merely tools, nothing else, said Phoenix Fire division chief Bob Khan. These products should not be used in lieu of supervision, he said.

1. Check the products and their batteries continually to ensure they are working.

2. Pool motion alarms emit a piercing sound when someone falls into the pool, or when the pressure of the water changes or when movement in the water is sensed.

3. Motion sensor alarms have an infrared beam that sound off when someone passes through the beam.

4. Gate alarms, similar to burglar alarms, sound an alert when someone enters the pool area. Make sure these are above the reach of the child.

5. Door and window alarms, similar to gate alarms, make a sound when the door or window is opened. Place these out of the reach of children.

6. Pool covers are designed primarily to keep debris out of the pool, but they can also be a safety device. As an alternative to door alarms, they should be able to withstand the weight of two adults and one child and meet other specifications, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

7. Magnetic safety latches for doors are designed to prevent jarring, sticking and other mechanical resistance to door closings.

8. Removable pool fences are not designed to take the place of permanent barriers, but can be used by people who do not have children but want some barrier when children visit. There are a variety of types that are usually made of see-though mesh.

Most cities require permanent fences around pools at homes where children 6 years old and younger are living. Pool fences also are suggested for any home where young children visit or spend any length of time.

1. When installing a fence, first check out the guidelines of your municipality. Make sure the fence meets specifications as to spacing of slats or chain links, as well as other requirements.

2. City of Phoenix requirements call for permanent 5-foot, non-climbable fences that have self-closing and self-latching gates that open outward from the pool. All latches must be 4 1/2 feet above ground or inaccessible from the outside by small children. Any opening in the fence must be less than 4 inches wide.

3. If a wall of the home is used as part of the pool enclosure, doors leading from the home into the pool area must also be self-closing and self-latching.

4. There are other particulars. Check with the city of Phoenix or your municipality for its pool barrier ordinance.

5. Make sure an existing pool fence is in good shape and stable, not wobbly or falling over. Pool fences need to be maintained like cars and appliances to be effective, Phoenix Fire Division Chief Bob Khan said.

6. If a fence is unsteady, have it stabilized by a contractor or handyman.

7. Regularly check that the gate latches securely and that spring mechanisms work properly. Regularly oil the hinges and latches.

8. Faulty or broken latches and hinges negate the value of having a pool fence, Khan said.

9. Keep gates closed securely at all times. Never prop them open.

10. If the gate has a lock, keep the keys well out of children's reach.

All too often people prop open gates, which creates an invitation for wandering children to enter the pool area unsupervised, he said.

If you possess 2 or more of these factors, you and your family may be at risk for a water-related incident in and around your home.

1. New Parents

2. Caregivers

3. New owners of a pool

4. New residents in Arizona

5. Resident of an apartment complex or community where the pool is not securely fenced

6. Multiple children around the pool

7. Lack of barriers (fences) or safety precaution's around the pool
(No toys, climbable furniture, ladders, etc. near fence or pool)

8. Other water hazards around the home without safety features (buckets, bathtubs, toilets, etc.)

9. Underestimate the mobility and ability of a toddler

MOST CRITICAL FACTOR

10. Breakdown in supervision or a lack of focus when children are present

REMEMBER - 2 SECONDS IS TOO LONG!
LET THE PHONE RING!