Safeguarding your backyard pool

Backyard pools provide welcome relief from the summer heat. They also can provide endless worry for parents whose children have easy access to a pool. <br><br>In News on Six Consumer Report, Rick Wells

Friday, June 7th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Backyard pools provide welcome relief from the summer heat. They also can provide endless worry for parents whose children have easy access to a pool.

In News on Six Consumer Report, Rick Wells tells us about a product that could provide those parents a little peace of mind.

Kim Wilkins and her family have a backyard pool. As summer rolls on and the days get hotter these kids will be more than happy to spend lots of time in the water. 19-month-old Hailey loves to play outside too, and her baby sister Evelyn soon will, but neither can swim, so playing outside near the pool is impossible. "I have two infants, a toddler and a newborn, I needed something so my toddler could come out and play and I wouldn't have to worry about the pool."

If you have a pool or you're getting one something like this might just be enough to ease those fears about your little kids getting in the pool when you're not looking.

It's a light-weight removable fence manufactured by pool Guard, Angel Hernandez is the local distributor and he says it mixes in a little peace of mind with the play around the pool. "You can tear it down in minutes, and still feel like whenever you put it back up that you're still gonna provide safety for your children."

So in this case 11-year-old Hunter and his friend Ryan can swim all they want, while Hailey is safely on the outside looking in. The fence fits into small sleeves installed in the deck, the supports slip in and out of those sleeves, but as long as the sections are hooked together at the top it seems pretty childproof.

Manufacturers claim the fence will withstand 500 pounds of pressure, much more than a child could exert. And a special feature, moms can get kisses from children safely on the other side.

Rick Wells says the Pool Guard fence usually takes about a week to ten days to get installed; it costs $16 a foot.