January 17, 2025: swimming pools as fire suppression systems
Good Morning,
What a week. Between the fires in California, negotiations in the Middle East, the ramp up to a US Presidential inauguration, and continued drama in Canadian politics, I'm happy to provide you with a series of small distractions by talking about the otherwise neutral world of swimming pools & aquatics.
Here's what I've been hearing & reading this week -
Pool pump and sprinklers help family save Palisades home from wildfire
This was a DIY project to create an external sprinkler, but I've seen a number of comments over the years from luxury residential designer Paolo Benedetti, talking about building fire suppression systems/connections into pool design. See also this recent post on his Swimming Pool Expert Witness Facebook page.
David Van Brunt also just released a podcast episode about an external firefighting pool system available, similar to this product invented by a firefighter who reports in this video that a 40,000 USG pool replaces 80 fire trucks worth of water.
Work progressing on Lac La Biche's new aquatic centre
I'm invested in this project because I was the Aquatic Supervisor from 2013 - 2016, and developed the Aquatic Services Strategic Plan. Why should you care about this project? Well, when the community built a brand new $70m recreation complex in 2010, the cost to add a new aquatic facility was another $8-10m. Adding the new aquatic center in 2025 with the current interest rates, strong USD, and inflated product costs is going to cost $45m.
R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 565: PUBLIC POOLS (UPDATED)
The Ontario swimming pool regulation was updated January 1, 2025. I've only just learned about this, and haven't reviewed the document in great detail yet. The Lifesaving Society of Ontario highlighted key areas. You can also download a version of the code showing both new and old language together simultaneously.
The Magic of Swimming Lessons in Middle Age
"Swimming culture is intimidating" is a very real statement we should all - as an aquatic industry - work to break.
Mother of man who drowned in St. Thomas calls for life-jacket loan program
Are you familiar with Lifejacket Loaner stations? These are programs in local communities across Canada to provide water safety equipment free of charge to borrow (on loan) at high-risk water bodies.
Dad says U.S. treatment Canadian doctors dubbed as ‘witchcraft’ will help son
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy received slightly more widespread media attention when surfer Bethany Hamilton's nephew fatally drowned in 2024, but it appears to still not be widespread or completely understood in all medical communities.
I've followed the non-fatal drowning recovery pages Penny's Crazy Train and Light for Levi & Lainey for years, and they both routinely do - and have had success from - hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Anecdotally, this week I also watched the hockey documentary Connor McDavid: Whatever It Takes and he credits spending 2 hours per day x 40 days in hyperbaric chambers to a significant part of his initial ligament recovery, despite being very claustrophobic while doing it.
World Aquatics Introduces Regulation Pool Size for Water Polo and Period-Friendly Swimwear
This is from a few weeks ago, but I consider it momentous considering how long it took World Aquatics (formerly FINA) to get onboard with products like the SoulCap.
Speaking of competitive swimming, a lot of people did not notice when the University of Alberta (Edmonton) quietly announced they'd be permanently cutting their swim teams at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year. I discussed this with my friend and swim coach, Dave Ling.
Lots of people ask me about starting a side business. This recently refreshed POOLaide Webinar shares lots of tips from another pool professional who started their own business.
Lastly, this came up on our Facebook page Memories recently, and it's too good not to reshare.
Credit to Aquatics Vibe by ALIVE Solutions.
I'll catch you next week from the opposite end of the continent.
Katie Crysdale
Lakeview Aquatic Consultants Ltd.