(a) Purpose.
Paragraph (b) of subdivision (14) of section 378 of
the Executive Law, as added by Chapter 450 of the
Laws of 2006, requires that the New York State
Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code (the
Uniform Code) provide that any “residential or
commercial swimming pool constructed or substantially
modified after the effective date of this paragraph
(December 14, 2006) shall be equipped with an
acceptable pool alarm capable of detecting a child
entering the water and of giving an audible alarm.”
The Introducer’s Memorandum in Support of
Chapter 450 states, in pertinent part, that “drowning
is the second leading cause of unintentional
injury-related deaths in children between the ages of
one and fourteen nation wide, and the third leading
cause of injury-related deaths of children in New
York. . . . (T)echnological advances have produced
several different types of pool alarms designed to
sound a warning if a child falls into the water. When
used in conjunction with access barriers, these
alarms provide greater protection against accidental
pool drownings.” This section and section 1221.3
of Part 1221 of this Title are intended to implement
the provisions of Executive Law section 378(14)(b).
(b)
Definitions. The terms “approved,”
“commercial swimming pool,” “residential
swimming pool,” “swimming pool,”
“substantial damage,” and “substantial
modification” shall, for the purposes of this
section, have the meanings ascribed in subdivision
(b) of section 1221.3 of Part 1221 of this Title.
(c) Pool
alarms. Each residential swimming pool installed,
constructed or substantially modified after December
14, 2006 and each commercial swimming pool installed,
constructed or substantially modified after December
14, 2006 shall be equipped with an approved pool
alarm which:
(1) is
capable of detecting a child entering the water
and giving an audible alarm when it detects a
child entering the water;
(2) is
audible poolside and at another location on the
premises where the swimming pool is located;
(3) is
installed, used and maintained in accordance with
the manufacturer’s instructions;
(4) is
classified by Underwriter’s Laboratory, Inc.
(or other approved independent testing
laboratory) to reference standard ASTM F2208,
entitled “Standard Specification for Pool
Alarms,” as adopted in 2002 and editorially
corrected in June 2005, published by ASTM
International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West
Conshohocken, PA 19428; and
(5) is not
an alarm device which is located on person(s) or
which is dependent on device(s) located on
person(s) for its proper operation.
(d) Multiple
pool alarms. A pool alarm installed pursuant to
subdivision (c) of this section must be capable of
detecting entry into the water at any point on the
surface of the swimming pool. If necessary to provide
detection capability at every point on the surface of
the swimming pool, more than one pool alarm shall be
installed.