Safe Gates Help Save Lives – Check Your Pool Gate Month

Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional death in children aged 1 – 4 years and the majority of the children that drown in swimming pools most commonly gain access to the pool area when there is no fence or through a faulty fence or gate. One important step to a solution to this issue is as simple as physically checking and maintaining your pool gate regularly to ensure it self-closes and self-latches at all times. You should not be able to open a gate at all without activating the release mechanism which should be out of the reach of toddlers.

D&D Technologies®, the inventor and manufacturer of the MagnaLatch® Pool Safety Gate Latch and the world leader in high-performance gate hardware, has partnered with the National Drowning Prevention Alliance (NDPA) to establish a Check Your Pool Gate Month campaign kicking-off Memorial Day Weekend and continuing through the month of June. The initiative was created to remind pool owners of the vital need to ensure pool fences, gates, latches and hinges are secure and in top working order. Every pool owner should be confident they have a safe swimming zone.

"Our aim with Check Your Pool Gate Month is to educate pool owners about pool safety and to encourage them to check their pool surroundings not once a year, but regularly," says Jim Paterson, D&D's VP of Sales and Marketing.

Even though checking a pool gate is vital for child safety, only a limited number of pool owners check the safety of their pool gates even once a year. A few minutes is all it takes for pool owners to check that their pool fences and gates, including latches and hinges, are in good working order. This simple routine done regularly could save the life of a child.

Safety checklist for pool gates:

• Should open outwards, away from the pool
• Height of latch release mechanism is least 54" from the bottom of the gate (check local codes)
  
• Must be self-closing and self-latching
  
• Hinges should be rust-free and bind-free
  
• Hinges should be reliable and tension-adjustable for closing speed
  
• Latch must be adjustable horizontally and vertically to accommodate gate movement
  
• Gate will latch when latch is in the locked or unlocked position
  
• Latch cannot be disengaged using implements (e.g. garden or pool tools)
  
• Latch cannot be shaken or jolted open
  
• Gate will shut and latch securely from any open angle or force
  
• Complies with all applicable standards, codes and legislation for pool safety