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A recent scare that could have turned tragic made Dwight Siemens and his wife, Mary, do something they had never done in the 10 years they've lived in their Clovis home.

They called All-Safe Pool Barriers in Fresno to enclose their swimming pool with a removable mesh fence.

While they have two sons -- the youngest is a senior in high school -- the idea of a fence or other type of safety barrier hadn't crossed their minds before.

"We've had hundreds and hundreds of kids out here and never had any incidents," says Dwight Siemens, a 51-year-old label manufacturer.

Then a recent church group gathering at their home forced them to think about safety barriers. A toddler accidentally fell into the pool. Luckily, an adult saw the child fall in and fished him out immediately, so no harm was done.

"It was pretty traumatic," he says. "There was no tragedy, but we didn't want to wait for that."

The recent drownings of two 5-year-olds in backyard swimming pools in Fresno have flashed a spotlight on pool safety.

No matter when your swimming pool was built or whether you have young children, fences and other safety barriers -- along with adult supervision -- can help prevent drownings.

New and remodeled pools

A decade ago, the state enacted the Swimming Pool Safety Act, which required any new swimming pools to have at least one approved safety barrier, such as a fence, a cover or an alarm on any door leading directly to the pool. It was amended in 2006 to allow pool alarms and removable mesh fencing as safety barrier options, and suction outlets were required to have anti-entrapment covers. It affected all swimming pools and spas that needed permits to be built or remodeled after Jan. 1, 2007.

Local residents constructing a new pool or doing a major remodel also should check local building codes to see what safeguards are acceptable. They can vary slightly from the state's requirements, which can be found at the California Department of Public Health Web site, www.cdph.ca.gov, or by searching for "2006 California Pool Safety Act."

Among the acceptable options and requirements by the state, with descriptions from the Web site, are:

Enclosures: A fence, wall or other barrier with a minimum height of 60 inches; gates opening away from the pool that are self-closing with a self-latching device placed no lower than 60 inches; no vertical gaps that allow a 4-inch diameter ball to pass through; no more than a 2-inch gap between the bottom of the enclosure and the ground; the outside surface must be free of any features that might allow a child to use handholds or footholds.

Removable fences: They must have a self-closing, self-latching gate that can accommodate a key-lockable device. The fence also must meet standards set by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). In Fresno, Clovis and Fresno County, these fences have to be secured in a permanent fashion -- one that requires adults to use tools to remove them.

Safety pool covers: Manual or automatic covers that meet ASTM standards.

Pool alarms: Alarms, including surface-motion, pressure, sonar, laser and infrared types, that will go off when they detect accidental or unauthorized entrance into the water. They also must meet ASTM standards.

Exit alarms: All doors or windows that allow direct access from the home to the pool have alarms that go off when opened or left ajar.

Door safety: All doors that allow direct access from the home to pool must have a self-closing, self-latching device, with the release mechanism placed no lower than 54 inches above the floor.

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