Mesa targets multifamily pools to cut child drownings

Terri Gazda frowned as she walked up to an old, rusty swimming pool gate Thursday at a Mesa apartment complex.

The painted white metal door was open just the slightest bit, so Gazda, a Mesa code compliance officer, snapped digital photos of the violation for her records.

“It’s not supposed to be open,” Gazda said sternly. “A child could just come in and get into the pool.”

Gazda is one of about 13 Mesa code inspectors who checks pools, among other tasks, at apartments, condominiums and houses to make sure gates and latches meet city requirements and will keep children out.

While the number of Valley children who fall into apartment or condominium complex swimming pools makes up only about 16 percent of the total incidents, the numbers still concern officials — especially since multifamily pools are easier to enforce than enclosed backyard pools.

From 2001 to 2006, four out of eight apartment or condominium complex drownings of children up to 4 years old were caused by an inadequate pool fence or a failed gate or latch, according to Arizona Department of Health Services data.

One such incident occurred as recently as April 16, when a 3-year-old Mesa boy accessed the pool area through a broken gate latch and drowned while his parents were asleep.

About two weeks later, Mesa officials conducted random inspections of 28 pools and found 31 violations, ranging from broken fencing and latches to improperly closing gates. The inspections are easier to conduct than backyard pool checks because officers can often drive by multihousing pools for a quick view of any obvious problems. However, a thorough inspection requires hands-on work.

Gazda climbed up on a curb Thursday during one of her inspections. She pushed the gate with her hands.

“It’s a strong gate,” she said. “When you’re pushing out you can feel the tension.”

Since there are so many pools in Mesa, inspections are usually conducted when a complaint is filed, said Ray Villa, Mesa’s code compliance director. A pool gate is sometimes a hazard and officers don’t even know it.

“Most of the problems we see are pools that are 20 years old or older and are starting to have wear and tear to the gates and fencing,” Villa said.

Following a first-time inspection, the management company in violation gets a notice that repairs are needed. A few days later, the inspector returns. If the problem has not been taken care of, the city calls police and the owner is slapped with a criminal citation.

Villa said the city has not had to do that yet. In extremely dangerous situations, city officials will repair the gate themselves or require the owners to fix the danger immediately.

“I think any drowning is preventable,” said Tiffaney Issacson, water safety coordinator at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, “but definitely an incident in the apartment complex and condominium pools where there’s someone we can point to who’s responsible to all the children that live in the complex.”

Although there were only eight drownings in Valley apartment and condo complex pools from 2000 to 2006, Issacson wants residents to remember that an additional 48 children fell into pools and some of those likely suffered brain damage.

Of all the multihousing drownings, half were caused by a lapse in supervision or by no one watching the children at all. When all Valley pool incidents are taken into account, about 82 percent of them are linked to supervision-related problems.

Since Mesa is a large city and has a rule requiring its residents to put gates around their swimming pools, the city has more compliance officers than other communities. In Gilbert, which has no rules requiring backyard pool gates, officials still inspect pools in multihousing areas and public pools, said town spokesman Greg Svelund. A fence around a Gilbert home is considered sufficient.

Scottsdale officials said they rely on the Maricopa County Department of Public Health to inspect city pools. And Tempe, like Gilbert, also has no ordinance requiring backyard pools to be gated.

During Gazda’s gate inspections on Thursday, she revisited the Epernay Apartments, 944 W. Main St., to determine if some inadequate gate springs had been repaired since she issued a warning last week.

She opened and closed the gates several times and pushed on them.

“It’s perfect!” she said. “They’ve been very cooperative and moved very quickly.”

Keith Sydell, the complex’s maintenance supervisor, watched as Gazda conducted her inspection.

“She really critiqued me last week,” Sydell said, “and it makes sense because you can’t afford to have a child drown, especially when you have kids yourself.”

Gazda said apartment complex managers are rarely happy to see her, but that it’s worth it to know she could be preventing a child’s drowning.

“It doesn’t make you feel good to give them a notice, until they do what you want them to do,” Gazda said. “But at least this is one of the things we inspect where we can say, ‘At least we know the kids will be safe here at this location.’”

Violations code inspectors look for on checks

• Pool fencing and gates that are not at least 54 inches tall.

• Spaces below pool fences that are more than two inches high.

• Bars on fences that are too far apart or broken off.

• Garbage cans and furniture close to the fence that kids can use to climb over.

• Gates that do not selfclose and self-latch.