CONSTRUCTING a permanent fence around the site of a new pool is a “great idea” to improve water safety but “logistically impossible” for builders, a coronial inquest into the drowning death of a Central Coast toddler has heard.
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Jake Rhodes died in hospital on January 17, 2015, a day after he was found face down in an unfinished fibreglass pool in Pimlico, south of Ballina, in northern NSW.
The toddler’s family, from Gosford, had been staying with a friend who was building the pool fence at the time of their visit.
The inquest is exploring a number of issues relating to the 21-month-old’s death, including why the unfinished pool was filled with water, whether temporary fences used in pool construction should meet a different design standard, whether the contract for building a pool should include the construction of permanent fencing, and the adequacy of the swimming pool approval process.
While a temporary fence had been installed around the perimetre of the pool, part of it was open to allow access for swimming, which Jake subsequently used before he was found in the water, the inquest was told.
The pool builder, Brian Bragg, the franchisee of Narellan Pools Northern Rivers, gave evidence that fibreglass pools needed to be progressively filled with water during construction “to make sure the pool is stable” against the underground water table.
The pool was full of water by the third day of the week-long construction.
Mr Bragg said it would be an “interference” to the job of a builder to install a permanent child-proof fence before construction began.
“It’s a great idea, I’d love to see something permanent, but I think logistically it’s impossible,” he replied when asked by counsel assisting the coroner Lester Fernandez.
He added: “The temporary fence does its job if it’s erected properly. It gives the ability to contractors to do their job without the interference.”
Mr Bragg’s son, Shem, who works in the family business, told the inquest he gave “very clear” verbal instructions during the pool “handover” that it could not be used until final council approval.
However, the owner, Danielle Forsythe, struggled to recall many of the specifics of the conversation other than “it was OK to swim in” and “the council would come once the fence was up”.
The inquest continues.
