Broward County Follows Dade In Changing Pool Law
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) -- Pool Builder Irv Chazen has a lot to be proud of.
Five months ago he stood next to a pool in Homestead telling us he wished he could change the law to save lives. Thursday night he took the podium in Broward County where they did just that.
"This whole thing resulted from a seven year old boy named Calder Sloan being electrocuted in his swimming pool." Chazen told the Board of Rules and Appeals.
Moments later they voted unanimously in favor of what Chazen asked for.
Earlier this year 7-year-old Calder Sloan died swimming in the family pool.
His father told Miami-Dade Commissioners this week he jumped into the pool hoping to swim across the pool underwater. He wanted to show his friend what a great swimmer he was.
"He had no idea that as he swam toward an electrified pool light at the deep end, Calder's deep breath would be his last," said Calder's father, Chris Sloan. "He was jolted horrifically by an awaiting silent killer."
Sloan says a faulty light and grounding issues were partly to blame.
A week later family members scrambled to pull three children from a suddenly charged Hialeah pool. Thankfully they lived.
CBS4 began to investigate and what we discovered was alarming.
Essentially two sets of standards. Commercial pools were required to carry low voltage, which is survivable in an accident. Residential pools on the other hand can carry high voltage, which is deadly.
Thursday Broward followed the Miami-Dade vote, eliminating high voltage lights in all new pools.
"I think we moved forward tonight. I think we did a good job in protecting people. I think it was the right step to do," said Ron Burr, the Chairman of the board and owner of Rite-Way Pools.
After 5 months of campaigning, pool builder Chazen still wonders what took so long.
"There should have never have been a reason to have high voltage lights in any pools," Chazen said.
He walked away with a smile, remarkably already talking about what he'll fix next.
"Times change. Requirements change. The national electric code is behind the times. They need a change," he said.
The new regulations will go into effect by the end of this month. It applies only to new pools.
Both Miami-Dade and Broward are looking at ways to fix this same issue with existing pools, which is likely the biggest threat still facing homeowners.
Chris Sloan is also asking for greater changes to save lives. You can read more about that by clicking here.
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