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Free pool fence program helps protect Arizona kids
A Mesa homeowner received a free pool fence to keep her 21 grandchildren safe. Learn more about this local safety program on FOX 10.
PHOENIX - A big pool fills up the backyard at a Mesa home, and putting a fence around it meant big bucks.
With quotes starting at $6,000, so it was put on the back burner for a long time.
"That's what took us so long. I just couldn't afford it. It was a lot out of pocket," said homeowner Deon Woodruff.
The backstory:
Woodruff knew something had to be done after her dog Dipper drowned in the pool. Dipper was a dog that knew how to swim, but for some reason, could not make it out. That was enough to scare her 21 grandkids away from the water for a while.
"Just scared everyone so traumatizing forever and they were scared of the pool for a while and didn't want to go near it," Woodruff said.
Dig deeper:
Then Woodruff heard about a program that offers free pool fences to families who qualify. The program was put on by Child Crisis Arizona, with five decades in Arizona on a mission to help families, including putting up pool fences all across Arizona.
"Accidental drownings continues to be the leading cause of death in Arizona for children under four and we know that layers of safety -- a pool fence is a very effective safety measure to create a barrier between the water and the child," a program representative said.
What they're saying:
The pool fence program has a lot of backers, from State Farm to Firefighters Charities to SRP. The main goal is to prevent children from drowning.
"I think a lot of people in Arizona don't realize we have some of the most pools in the nation so there is water everywhere. And if you have a young child that presents a consistent risk always going to be there even in the wintertime or summertime," said Rori Minor of SRP.
Woodruff says the application was easy and the fence went up within about a month, 100% free. Keeping her grandkids safe is priceless.
"They made it so easy and they were so nice. It's worth a shot to see if you can get these up, because if it saves one life, it's amazing. It's worth it," Woodruff said.
The Source: Information in this report was gathered from Deon Woodruff, Child Crisis Arizona, State Farm, Firefighters Charities, and Rori Minor of SRP.