Lifeguards Didn't Respond Accordingly, Cal-OSHA Says (4 year old died)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.my58.com/news/15859296/detail.html

Report: Wave Pool Victim Floated 39 Seconds
Lifeguards Didn't Respond Accordingly, Cal-OSHA Says

POSTED: 1:00 pm PDT April 11, 2008
UPDATED: 2:28 pm PDT April 11, 2008

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- A state agency found that a 4-year-old boy who died at an amusement park pool was floating for 39 seconds before a lifeguard responded.

Cal-OSHA released its accident report Friday that followed an investigation into the death of Carlos Flores, who drowned July 12 in the Great Barrier Reef Wave Pool at Great America.

The report determined that Flores was floating for 39 seconds, and that lifeguards were supposed to follow the "10/20 Rule." The rule states that if a lifeguard sees someone in trouble, they must respond in 10 seconds, and that they must reach the person within 20 seconds.

It also found that four of the six lifeguards had been on stands for more than 1 ½ hours, and one of the the four had been on a stand for two hours. The lifeguards are supposed to spend only one hour at a time on the stand.

Cal-OSHA reccomended that a personal floatation device policy for people under 48 inches tall be implemented, along with reducing patron density.


FULL story at link.