Pool safety targeted by Hempstead officials

In the wake of three recent home pool drownings on Long Island before summer officially started, the Town of Hempstead Monday launched a campaign to prevent accidental pool drownings.

"Three Long Island children have drowned this season in homeowner swimming pools and that is three too many," said Kate Murray, supervisor of the Town of Hempstead. "As we still see tragedies occurring and at alarming rates, we want to make sure that we get the word out."

Last month, a West Babylon girl, 2, drowned in a pool at her home. Two weeks ago, a 3-year-old boy drowned at the Laurel Hollow home of his grandparents and just last week, an 11-year-old boy drowned at a neighbor's house in Bay Shore.

Murray partnered with Cablevision, which owns Newsday, and King Kullen Monday, the first official day of summer, at a news conference at Veterans Park Pool in East Meadow.

For the first time, public service announcements on pool safety will be aired on Cablevision and Verizon's FiOS, while brochure guides will be mailed to every household, about 240,000 homes, outlining the importance of pool alarms and key safety tips.

Murray passed legislation in 2008 requiring all backyard pools in the town to be alarmed. Under the law, all homeowner swimming pools located in the unincorporated areas of the town must have an alarm capable of detecting a child entering the water.

A properly installed alarm will trigger an 85-decibel alert if something weighing at least 8 pounds falls into the water, Murray said. "The smallest toddler can activate the alarm."

Pool alarms can cost from $70 to $200, said Mike Deery, the town's director of communications. Several models are offered for different pool types, he said.

"A pool without an alarm is an invitation for disaster. The alarm could save countless lives," Murray said.

Dolores Chiappone, 62, of East Meadow, a grandmother who baby-sits her 3-year-old and 10-year-old grandchildren and owns an above-ground pool, said, "Maybe this is something that we could do further to protect the children. . . . There are some careless parents out there that do not watch their children properly. I think the alarm will help them."