Safety fences will be required in private swimming pools to prevent drowning of minors

By The Star Staff

To prevent child drownings in private swimming pools, the chairman of the House of Representatives’ Legal Committee, José “Che” Pérez, filed House Bill 691, which requires the installation of an alarmed security fence on every residential property with a swimming pool where a child under six years of age sleeps.

“Over the past few years, there have been almost constant reports of children dying or being hospitalized due to drowning in swimming pools, especially in residential settings. This reality highlights the urgency of establishing effective preventative measures to avoid further accidents involving children, which often result in irreparable neurological damage or loss of life. Therefore, we believe this bill addresses a real and pressing need,” commented the Representative at Large.

Just over a week ago, a three-year-old boy died after drowning in a pool in the Río Piedras area.

The measure, filed on May 20, creates the new “Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act in Puerto Rico,” to establish as a minimum safety standard that all private residential properties, including those intended for rental, that have a swimming pool, and where one or more minors under six years of age spend the night or reside, must have a security fence with an approach alarm.

The legislation also orders the Institute of Forensic Sciences to develop an intervention protocol in cases where a child under six years of age dies from apparent drowning in a swimming pool.

The New Progressive Party legislator indicated that there are multiple jurisdictions with similar security systems.

In France, the Raffarin Law of 2003 made it mandatory to install safety fences in all swimming pools, both public and private. Since its implementation, the number of children drowning in swimming pools has decreased by 75 percent.

Similarly, in Florida, the Department of Health has identified accidental drowning as the leading cause of death among children ages 1 to 4. Amid growing concern about this problem, legislators passed a law requiring safety fences in all swimming pools. Arizona has also taken steps in this direction, adopting Statute § 36-1681, which aims to prevent child drownings through specific safety requirements for residential swimming pools.