Hot tub accident

A Mickeyfan

DIS Legend
Joined
May 31, 2000
Messages
10,422
I am not sure if this has been posted before. If so, I am sorry for repeating it. I thought it was worth reading... this came from my local paper today:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Boy critical after hot tub sucks him to bottom
By Florida Today And Wkmg Local 6 News
Originally posted on July 15, 2006


A 14-year-old boy in Osceola County was critically injured Friday when he was sucked down to the bottom of a resort hot tub.

Authorities said Aljuwon Pipkin, who was visiting from New Jersey, became stuck at the bottom of the hot tub in Radisson Parkway Hotel.

"The suction was so strong that they could not get him out," mother Dianne Mann said. "He stayed under there until the paramedics and fire department came and they were trying to get him out."

"Fortunately there was an engineer walking around the hot tub at the time of the incident and he was able to shut off the water pumps before it was too late," Local 6 reporter Jessica D'Onofrio said.

The teen was submerged from five to 15 minutes, the report said. Pipkin was transported to Florida Hospital South in critical condition.

The hot tub passed its last inspection at the end of May, according to the health department.

The Osceola County Sheriff's Office is investigating the incident.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

most 14 year old boys are not tiny! This is so terrible to happen. My heart goes out to this family.
People... warn your kids about the dangers of hot tubs! Many kids "play" in them. I am somewhat guilty of it myself. I allowed my kids to go in them when they really should not have (most have signs posted about age limits). My youngest is now 13. I was with her when she was in it. I would tell her not to "play" that it is just to relax in. Many parents allow their young children to play in them as if they were kiddie pools. These are not meant for that. I am not saying that this boy was playing. I can see it happening... he goes under to dunk his head & wham...he is sucked in. I had always warned my girls about their hair being sucked in.

Same goes for the drain at the bottom of a swimming pool. Many kids love to dive down to touch the drain. That drain has suction & it can AND will suck you down as much as a hot tub will. You would be surprised how many people do not know about that. It could be because they are not around pools that often to really know all the dangers. Yes, everyone knows not to let children swim alone, not to run on the wet pool deck, not to dive in shallow water....but they don't know about the suction pools have. Please watch you children... :grouphug:
 
In NJ there is a law that there has to be an emergency shut off within the spa or pool. At least that was law 2years ago, who knows now with all the craziness NJ's government has gone through lately. It should be law everywhere. It's just such an easy accident to prevent. :sad2:
Kimba
 
This is an inherent problem in all whirlpool hot tubs. Ways of combating it have consisted of putting grates with ridges over the suction drain to prevent concentrating of the suction, and having more than one suction drain (hopefully two or more kids won't try to sit on all of the drains at the same time).

I have read about more than a few critical injuries caused by the suction over the past 10 years. Depending on what part of the body got stuck down, there have been instances of injury to internal organs.

Limited success has been had by a rescuer trying to slip one hand and arm under the victim.

Disney hints:
http://www.cockam.com/disney.htm
 
Ok, we have a hot tub. Honestly, I've never felt any suction on it anywhere. Is there anything that can be done to an old one, or just simply be aware of where it is and stay away?

Scary! I have long hair and love to just float around in there alone at night. Plus I have 4 little ones who tend more towards the "play" end, lol. If one of them got stuck, couldn't I just hop out and pull the plug on the hot tub? The transformer is only 5 ft away.
 

RockyMtnMaria said:
Ok, we have a hot tub. Honestly, I've never felt any suction on it anywhere. Is there anything that can be done to an old one, or just simply be aware of where it is and stay away?

Scary! I have long hair and love to just float around in there alone at night. Plus I have 4 little ones who tend more towards the "play" end, lol. If one of them got stuck, couldn't I just hop out and pull the plug on the hot tub? The transformer is only 5 ft away.
I have a pool & I know I have been down by the drain & really do not feel that much of a suction. I had been told by the pool builder (several years ago) that it can & does occur. You do not hear of too many of these accidents in a pool, but the hot tubs you do. Although I can remember reading in the paper about a guy getting a body part stuck in the jet of a pool. :rotfl: It may have been in Orlando, I can't remember for sure. Sorry to laugh but the part that got stuck..had no reason to be in the jet... ;)
 
RockyMtnMaria said:
Ok, we have a hot tub. Honestly, I've never felt any suction on it anywhere. Is there anything that can be done to an old one, or just simply be aware of where it is and stay away?

Scary! I have long hair and love to just float around in there alone at night. Plus I have 4 little ones who tend more towards the "play" end, lol. If one of them got stuck, couldn't I just hop out and pull the plug on the hot tub? The transformer is only 5 ft away.

Hello!, DH is an electrician so I just asked him. He suggested that you hire an electrician to install a shut off switch so you aren't pulling the plug while wet.
It shouldn't cost too much and it will be safer for you.
Hope this helps!!
Kimba
 
how awful, I have only heard of the accidents where things were stuck in the jets. We always let the kids play, of course we are always there and I have even played ;) in them too.
 
This is terrible; we have a small tub, with three separate intakes for the jets---each one does generate some force, but not enough to keep anyone pinned, I don't think.

But, I do know exactly where the circuit breaker is for the tub.
 
kimbac3 said:
In NJ there is a law that there has to be an emergency shut off within the spa or pool. At least that was law 2years ago, who knows now with all the craziness NJ's government has gone through lately. It should be law everywhere. It's just such an easy accident to prevent. :sad2:
Kimba

It still is. Every public hot tub/spa in the State had to be retrofitted with an emergency shut off after a girl drowned in a hottub when her hair became tangled in the drain due to the suction during a school snactioned after-prom party. I believe the law also requires emergency shut off installation even in private hot tubs, although those already in existance are grandfathered. We do'nt have a hot tub, but if we ever install one for sure I'll have an emergency cut off installed to go with it. Saving a life is worth the extra $100.

Anne
 
A Mickeyfan said:
The teen was submerged from five to 15 minutes, the report said. Pipkin was transported to Florida Hospital South in critical condition.

submerged from 5 to 15minutes and he lived -how????

Disney has a age limit not to mention time limit.

I can be pretty bad which I see young children playing in the hot tub. I point out the sign to the parents. If they still ignore the warning and allow their children to play. I ask them if they can read....

that generally does it - they all leave.

People act like warning are to be ignored. Isn't hot water bad for brain development?
 
I work for a Comfort Inn here in Maine and we have a hottub in our pool area. We recently made the age limit 18 and boy do our guests get mad. But this was necessitated by idiots letting their BABIES sit in the hottub with them for 1/2 hour or more. And of course also by the kids who thought it was just another swimming pool. Luckily we never had any overheated babies or drowned kids - but obviously it does happen. My heart goes out to the family of this boy and I hope he recovers fully.
 
spiceycat said:
Disney has a age limit not to mention time limit.

I can be pretty bad which I see young children playing in the hot tub. I point out the sign to the parents. If they still ignore the warning and allow their children to play. I ask them if they can read....

that generally does it - they all leave.

People act like warning are to be ignored. Isn't hot water bad for brain development?


Good for you! I totally agree. ::yes:: Warnings are there for a reason... they aren't "suggestions", :sad2: they're rules. My daughter begged and pleaded, :rolleyes: but where her safety was concerned, I wasn't willing to "bend" the rules. Guess what? She went in her first hot tub at 18... worth the wait she tells me! :teeth:
 
Spiceycat- I had to wonder about that 5-15 minutes too. Seems that someone under water for 15 minutes wouldn't be able to survive. However, it's a good reminder and not something everyone would be aware of.
 
There are a few things that don't add up in this story. The engineer was just walking around??? Five to 15 minutes etc. I am sure the boy was down there, what I really wonder about was anyone else there or was this 14 year old considered "old enough" to play by himself? I also wonder HOW he got there? I know this sound cruel, but I have watched teen and preteen boys and they have this tendency to attempt to figure things out. I can see one of them attempting to swim down there to play with the drain.
 
Getting stuck in a pool/hot tub drain is not unknown. There was a report on this years ago on one of the network news programs, featuring what happened to a little girl who sat on a pool drain. You do not want to hear the details.

Always warn kids to keep away from the drains.

James Baker's (Sec of State under the first President Bush) granddaughter died after being trapped in a spa drain.

More info:

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml05/05178.html

http://www.hotelfun4kids.com/travelnews/safetynews/pools.htm

http://www.usa.safekids.org/tier3_cd.cfm?content_item_id=22070&folder_id=3
00

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/02/earlyshow/living/ConsumerWatch/main1570451.shtml
 
My DD's hair got caught in a whirlpool bath while in Orlando at a timeshare. Luckily, her hair was long enough she was still above water & I shut off the power quickly. However, it was a scary few seconds when she screamed & we worked to get her unstuck. Definitely please be careful if you're floating w/long hair.
 
I cant understand why people use hot tubs in the heat anyway.. they are scary hot!
 
SammieG said:
I cant understand why people use hot tubs in the heat anyway.. they are scary hot!

Not to mention the less-than-sanitary condition of almost every public hot tub.

If people knew of even half of the things lurking in the tub and the pipes of a public hot tub, they would run and scream with fright.
 
LarryC said:
Not to mention the less-than-sanitary condition of almost every public hot tub.

If people knew of even half of the things lurking in the tub and the pipes of a public hot tub, they would run and scream with fright.
I hate to say it, but so do the pools at the hotels.. they have even more urine in them.. but that is what chlorine is suppose to be taking care of, the germs that lurk..
 












Receive up to $1,000 in Onboard Credit and a Gift Basket!
That’s right — when you book your Disney Cruise with Dreams Unlimited Travel, you’ll receive incredible shipboard credits to spend during your vacation!
CLICK HERE











DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter DIS Bluesky

Back
Top Bottom