Editor, how do you know that there were not sufficient guards? How do you know it was a failure? Were you even THERE? Accidents can happen in the BLINK of an eye, which is why they are called accidents. Until you can actually be there and *witness* the events that took place, perhaps you should not give opinion on them.
I agree with the person who wrote this letter. Maybe you should check your facts a little bit better before you jump on your high horse and attack someone when you do not know the situation. I don’t care how many lifeguards are on duty, it only takes a single SECOND for someone to glance away TO CHECK ON OTHERS IN THE POOL for an accident to happen.
Children have drowned or gotten seriously injured in their own homes because their parents looked away for just a second or two. Does that make them negligent or bad parents? No, but everyone points fingers at them saying so. We are ALL human and we can’t be everywhere at every second preventing everything from happening.
Maybe instead of trying to make everything about your own agenda because you want to cause waves, you should get your facts straight about situations and not claim to know exactly what happened when you weren’t even there to witness said events. I’m sure even “witnesses” of the event have different sides of what happened that are only a fraction of what actually happened because we don’t always see everything or know everything that happened despite being there.
EDITOR’S RESPONSE: It takes more than “seconds” for a child to be in trouble. Moreover, lifeguards learn to anticipate problems, such as a neglectful parent or an unsupervised child by a pool.
I repeat that the Watchdog’s apartment complexes and hotels have provided 600 pool seasons over 45 years without a serious injury or drowning.
Anyone who has a serious interest in improving guarding at a public pool, be they lifeguard, manager or owner, need only contact the Manor House Apartments to arrange a visit. We will also be pleased to provide a copy of our pool procedures manual.
Stop making excuses. Start learning. Safety first!
I was wondering where your lifeguards learn to see the future. At skyline, they do a fantastic job lifeguarding. All the guards have their eyes on the pool and perform their duties to the best of their abilities. I’m just confused, unless your guards only watch 1 or 2 people they must be psychics. No one can predict or anticipate every single child’s actions, especially when the child was safe with her mother for almost 20 mins prior to the accident. This was in no way the lifeguards fault.