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pool phone required in Florida

Started by BarbaraD6 • 40 replies • 8085 views

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BarbaraD6 (Florida)
Posts: 347
Posted:
We have a pay phone at our community pool.Our new pm stated we don't need to have a phone at the pool. The board and residents were always told we had to have one as it's the law. I can't find the law pertaining to pool phones. Can anyone help out on this issue? We are a HOA community in Pasco County,Florida.
Barbara
JohnB7 (South Carolina)
Posts: 176
Posted:
W/O a phone how would 911 be called in an emergency?

Whether it is 'required' or not how could you justify not having one?

Your building codes probably specify a 7' ceiling height but you have 8' (right!).
DonnaS (Tennessee)
Posts: 5,671
Posted:

Barbara,

In what context was the P.M saying that you do not need to have a phone? Probably something to do with cost cutting? IMHO--not worth it not to have one. I know that my side of the State, Bell South lets you have a phone for about 12.00 bucks, just for 911 service. The alternate not to have one could be catastrophic..
BillG6 (Florida)
Posts: 41
Posted:
Barbara - I would check with local Code regarding this. To Donna's point, the cost is cheap and well worth having. Looking for cost savings??? start with PM salary & benefits
CarolF (Florida)
Posts: 435
Posted:
I'm in FL and the HOA insurance carrier required it.
AnnaD2 (Florida)
Posts: 960
Posted:
I'm in Pinellas County. Our insurance carrier does not require it. Nor do our county codes require it. We have a yearly inspection by the county health inspector and they have never even suggested we have one installed.

MaryA1 (Arizona)
Posts: 7,043
Posted:
Considering how many people have cell phones, if there are 20 people at the pool and an emergency occured I wouldn't be afraid to bet at least 19 people would have a cell phone to call 911 on!
BarbaraD6 (Florida)
Posts: 347
Posted:
It was suggested to save money.I appreciate all the various points of view.
Barbara
EllenS1 (Florida)
Posts: 1,148
Posted:
MaryA,

Suppose there are three people at the pool and no one has a cell phone to use in case of an emergency? I would check out the cost and divide it by the number of members. There are other ways to save costs. For instance, our PM charges 25 cents a copy for sending out mailings, etc. We all know of stores where you can get a copy for 10 cents or even five cents so they are ripping off the same folks that hired them. Question, if your child were saved by having a phone at the pool would you still think the cost was too high?
MaryA1 (Arizona)
Posts: 7,043
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By EllenS1 on 07/25/2009 2:20 PM
MaryA,

Suppose there are three people at the pool and no one has a cell phone to use in case of an emergency? I would check out the cost and divide it by the number of members. There are other ways to save costs. For instance, our PM charges 25 cents a copy for sending out mailings, etc. We all know of stores where you can get a copy for 10 cents or even five cents so they are ripping off the same folks that hired them. Question, if your child were saved by having a phone at the pool would you still think the cost was too high?

Ellen,

I made no remarks about the cost; however, since Barbara's assn already has a phone at the pool I'm sure they know what the cost is.

The remark I made was only in ref to the nr of people who have cell phones. I don't have one myself, but it seems as though everyone else does, including my grandchildren! Frankly I would be very surprised that none of the 3 people you mention would have one.
AnnaD2 (Florida)
Posts: 960
Posted:
Mary, I thought I was the only person left, in the world, without a cell phone! Nice to know I'm not alone.
JohnB7 (South Carolina)
Posts: 176
Posted:
In South Carolina a pool phone is REQUIRED. No or inoperative phone -> closed pool.

Why do people want the MINIMUM required by code and not a proper/safe/good practise(s) operation?

If you can't afford the $10-12/month for a piece of (industry recognized) safety equipment - SHUT THE @#$%^&*() POOL.
JohnB7 (South Carolina)
Posts: 176
Posted:
Antiquity
Building codes have a long history. What is generally accepted as the first building code was in the Code of Hammurabi which specified:

229. If a builder builds a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built falls in and kills its owner, then that builder shall be put to death.
230. If it kills the son of the owner, the son of that builder shall be put to death.
231. If it kills a slave of the owner, then he shall pay, slave for slave, to the owner of the house.
232. If it ruins goods, he shall make compensation for all that has been ruined, and inasmuch as he did not construct properly this house which he built and it fell, he shall re-erect the house from his own means.
233. If a builder builds a house for someone, even though he has not yet completed it; if then the walls seem toppling, the builder must make the walls solid from his own means.

(sic) if 911 can not be reached ..................................................
MaryA1 (Arizona)
Posts: 7,043
Posted:
John,

Did you help Hammarabi write the code! LOL
EllenS1 (Florida)
Posts: 1,148
Posted:
Looks like with just these few posts Mary, Anna and myself do not have cell phones.
SteveM9 (Massachusetts)
Posts: 3,699
Posted:
Every cell phone can call 911 even without activation. Just buy a tmobile2go cellphone at walmart for $19 and mount it behind some glass with a hammer that says break glass for phone in case of emergency. Mount the charger in there too.

Done.
AnnaD2 (Florida)
Posts: 960
Posted:
We're not allowed to have any glass in our pool area. I'm not being a smart aleck. I do like your idea to have one of those phones available...somehow.
BrianB (California)
Posts: 2,820
Posted:
well, if we are going to dive into this and say that having a phone is the safe thing to do, how about this: forget the phone, and have everyone learn proper first aid and CPR in order to use the pool.

knowing WHAT to do in a swimming pool emergency will save more lives than having a phone to call someone else who knows what to do, but is ten minutes away.

I get angry every time i hear those replays of some mother/father calling 911 and saying their child is in the pool, and they have no idea how to perform CPR. Whatever happened to being responsible? Stop thinking that everyone else in the world is responsible for YOUR safety and health, and do something to make yourself more responsible.

(can you tell this is one of my peeves?)
DonnaS (Tennessee)
Posts: 5,671
Posted:

YUP!! WE SURE CAN (and why not be peeved at stupidity)
GlenL (Ohio)
Posts: 5,491
Posted:
Personal responsibility went out in the 90's I think along with common sense. One of the roughest calls I ever had as a medic was on was of a toddler who pushed through the broken gate surrounding the families pool and fell into the two feet of brackish water standing in the pool. His super absorbent diaper sucked him right to the bottom and held him there until he was found. We managed to revive him but he later succumbed to complications.
Studies show that 5 out of 4 people have problems with fractions
DonnaS (Tennessee)
Posts: 5,671
Posted:

Glen,

Back when I lived in S. Florida, 3 little kids drowned in a neighbors pool. It had a 6 foot wood stockade fence around the yard. But!! here comes the stupid. The bottom rails were loose and the fence pushed in. Kids in--kids drown.
TracieS (Colorado)
Posts: 460
Posted:
I was walking past one of our City Park pools, which is CLOSED for maintenance... Bunch of people inside...no lifeguard. They had actually CUT through the chain link fence to swim...

If someone had drowned, I'm pretty sure they would have sued the city... IDIOTS!
GlenL (Ohio)
Posts: 5,491
Posted:
That’s kind of what happened here. The gate was locked but the bottom hinge was broken allowing the child to push under it. The part that still makes me angry was the family knew of the problem, it was on the father's to do list.
Studies show that 5 out of 4 people have problems with fractions
EllenS1 (Florida)
Posts: 1,148
Posted:
Anna,

If there is a restroom adjoining your pool perhaps it could be placed in there.
EllenS1 (Florida)
Posts: 1,148
Posted:
Brian,

Good idea....having CPR training. This would also be good for over 55 communities too in case of a heart attack. I'm sure it could be set up to have a meeting where the owners couold learn at the same time. Then beat the bushes to get as many owners as possible to attend.
EllenS1 (Florida)
Posts: 1,148
Posted:
Donna,

Here in Florida teaching kids to swim at an early age should be a necessity. My 18 month old great grandaugher almost caused me to faint when she hung on to her dad's back and he dove to the bottom. She came up screaming "more" "more" and it wasn't long before she could swim. Another funny incident. When I lived in a condo and had my 2 year old granson in the pool while I sat close by and watched I got some dirty looks from some senior women. I'm sure they thought I was doing a poor job by not being with him. Their looks changed to smiles when he jumped in and swam the length of the pool.

I advocate getting rid of those "swimmies" you see on little ones. Better to teach them how to float and progress to swimming.
EllenS1 (Florida)
Posts: 1,148
Posted:
Glen,

How sad and that is something the father will have to live with.
DonnaS (Tennessee)
Posts: 5,671
Posted:

Ellen,

This happened in Pt. St Lucie,

The 3 kids belonged to a family that were "renting"(squatting) in 1 of those famous marajuana growing spec houses. I thought that they would have been able to swim. I won't elaborate. But they did know how to slide under the wooden fence. I know this is not to be funny but rather a sign of the times.
EllenS1 (Florida)
Posts: 1,148
Posted:
Donna,

It just shows some people were never meant to be parents. We have heard some very horrible things here in Florida where the Dept of Children and Families have let many little ones slip through the cracks resulting in a lot of harm and even deaths. Falsifying reports saying they had visited famlies that were reported when they never did, etc. I could go on but this has nothing to do with the initial question. Phones at pools. If HOAS can't pay the cost they should not have pools. Maybe some day there will be legislation requiring this.
BarbaraD6 (Florida)
Posts: 347
Posted:
Hello All,
My original question was to find out if their was a law that you had to have a pool phone. Many of you have brought up valid points,which I will discuss with my fellow Board members.
Barbara
JohnB7 (South Carolina)
Posts: 176
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By MaryA1 on 07/26/2009 5:47 PM
John,

Did you help Hammarabi write the code! LOL

No, but I helped with enforcement
JohnB7 (South Carolina)
Posts: 176
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By BarbaraD6 on 07/28/2009 6:13 AM
Hello All,
My original question was to find out if their was a law that you had to have a pool phone. Many of you have brought up valid points,which I will discuss with my fellow Board members.
Barbara

SC - required by DHEC

FL - not required by DHEC

Universally required by common sense. While someone trained in CPR 'may' be available I doubt if you have an AED on hand. (automatic electronic defibulator) CPR is used UNTIL THE AED is on scene - EMTs/911

AED - $2000+-, then semi annual maintenance?
phone - $10-12 / month

! DOH !
EllenS1 (Florida)
Posts: 1,148
Posted:
Barbara,

Sorry to have gotten off point but why does it matter if it is the law? Common sense should prevail. A phone may save lives. Some board members get so entangled in legal issues that they can't see the forest for the trees. A lot just love to have discussions and make a point rather than doing the right thing.
BarbaraD6 (Florida)
Posts: 347
Posted:
Ellen,
Our Assocation is in a financial crisis. This Board is looking into each and every expense.The Board needed to know the law on this issue. We will probably look into a cheaper phone that only calls 911. Our pool is surrounded by 3 buildings and if anyone yelled for help it would be easily heard.
thanks for all the opinions
Barbara
JohnB7 (South Carolina)
Posts: 176
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By BarbaraD6 on 08/01/2009 12:15 PM
Ellen,
Our Assocation is in a financial crisis. This Board is looking into each and every expense.The Board needed to know the law on this issue. We will probably look into a cheaper phone that only calls 911. Our pool is surrounded by 3 buildings and if anyone yelled for help it would be easily heard.
thanks for all the opinions
Barbara

If your pool is surrounded by three buildings and you can't afford $10-12/month for an emergency phone .... you REALLY need to close the pool and save some REAL $$$$$$$$$$$.
EllenS1 (Florida)
Posts: 1,148
Posted:
John,

Right on!
BarbaraD6 (Florida)
Posts: 347
Posted:
Too many times on these threads assumptions are made.
At no time did I say it cost $10-$12.
Barbara
JohnB7 (South Carolina)
Posts: 176
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By BarbaraD6 on 08/03/2009 8:03 AM
Too many times on these threads assumptions are made.
At no time did I say it cost $10-$12.
Barbara

No assumption ... that's what incoming only (911 is ALWAYS active) service costs
JohnK3 (Pennsylvania)
Posts: 967
Posted:
Wouldn't 911 only be outgoing service? Distinctive ring would be an incoming only service, for instance.
JohnB7 (South Carolina)
Posts: 176
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By JohnK3 on 08/03/2009 9:12 AM
Wouldn't 911 only be outgoing service? Distinctive ring would be an incoming only service, for instance.

ALL cell phones including un or de activated will reach 911.

ALL phone lines will allow dialing 911.

A 'hardwired' phone service with no outgoing calls permitted WILL ALLOW 911.
EllenS1 (Florida)
Posts: 1,148
Posted:
Barbara.

If you want to save money, close the pool..What is your present cost for pool maintenance? A "financial crisis" should dictate this.

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