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7 June 2025
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Featured FRI Magazine article: Suction entrapment in swimming pools: a case study by Julius Fleischman and Neville van Rensburg
Schematic of the incident
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The rescue scenario
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https://www.frimedia.org/uploads/1/2/2/7/122743954/fri_vol_3_no_6.pdf
This week’s featured Fire and Rescue International magazine article is: Suction entrapment in swimming pools: a case study written by Julius Fleischman and Neville van Rensburg, SAMRO (FRI Vol 3 no 6). We will be sharing more technical/research/tactical articles from Fire and Rescue International magazine on a weekly basis with our readers to assist in technology transfer. This will hopefully create an increased awareness, providing you with hands-on advice and guidance. All our magazines are available free of charge in PDF format on our website and online at ISSUU. We also provide all technical articles as a free download in our article archive on our website.
Suction entrapment in swimming pools: a case study
By Julius Fleischman and Neville van Rensburg, SAMRO
Kids need constant supervision around water, whether the water is in a bathtub, a wading pool, an ornamental fish pond, a swimming pool, a spa, the beach or a lake.
Young children are especially vulnerable; they can drown in less than six centimetres of water. That means drowning can happen where you'd least expect it: the sink, the toilet bowl, fountains, buckets, inflatable pools or small bodies of standing water around the home, such as ditches filled with rainwater.
On 20 February 2015, a boy in the Free State Province of South Africa barely escaped with his life when he became entrapped in the drain pipe of a local swimming pool.
Statistics
Since the 1980's there have been at least 147 incidents documented of suction entrapment in swimming pools, including 36 deaths. Suction entrapment occurs when a swimmer, usually a small child, is trapped by the suction forces created by the water rushing out of the drain at the bottom of the pool. In some cases, swimmers have been trapped underwater until they drowned and in others they have suffered serious injuries to various parts of their bodies.
Between January 1990 and August 2004, the Consumer Product Safety Commission reported 74 cases of body or limb entrapment in swimming pools, resulting in 13 deaths. During that same period, the commission also reported 43 incidents of hair entrapment or entanglement in pools or spas, resulting in 12 deaths and two cases of young children being disembowelled by drains.
Entrapment is one of the hidden dangers of swimming pools many people aren’t aware of, until it’s too late.
For the rescuer and the public to understand why, we need to know the basics of pool and spa circulation. Pool and spa drains are different from those in sinks or bathtubs. Pool drains are actually part of a circulation system that’s driven by a pump to filter and maintain water quality. Water is continually being sucked into the drains and recirculated back into the pool.
Swimmers, who come in contact with these suction outlets, can become entrapped, especially if the cover is broken or improperly installed. In some cases a vacuum can form, making it nearly impossible to free the victim.
There are five types of entrapment:
• Body entrapment
• Limb entrapment
• Evisceration
• Mechanical entrapment
• Hair entrapment
All often lead to drowning.
So, what does the law state in South Africa about every public pool that we have; about an anti-entrapment drain cover to prevent such tragedies? The next time you visit your local pool, school or waterpark, make sure you ask the manager if they comply with this law.
Ultimately, the issue of entrapment is just one more reason supervision is so important when it comes to water safety.
In a life-threatening situation, when possible, it is necessary that the most qualified individuals available provide all assistance necessary during every moment of the situation. But when seconds count, there must be no delay in determining who is more qualified.
Rescuers nightmare
Scenario: a child came in contact with a suction outlet in a swimming pool and was entrapped. The cover was broken or improperly installed and it was impossible to free the victim who was trapped in the suction force. His head was barely above water and he was standing on his toes in a swimming pool.
The nine-year old child’s hand and forearm were stuck approximately 25cm into the suction pipe. Rescuers needed to act very fast.
The aim was to ensure that the victim could breathe and that the situation did not deteriorate further. The solution had to be quick and simple. Rescuers had to consider the level of entrapment, drowning and hypothermia, especially with the patient being a very young child.
The plan of action to extract the child had to include time, safety measures and team work.
Case study: Free State Mangaung fire fighters chisel child’s arm from vacuum line
That was precisely what happened on Friday, 20 February 2015, when fire fighters and rescuers from Mangaung Fire Department started a four-hour long rescue operation to free a nine-year old child from entrapment. A rescuer’s nightmare.
At about 13h00, Mangaung fire fighters and paramedics were called to a local school in response to a call of a child who was trapped in a school swimming pool.
When the first units arrived, they found the nine-year-old boy in the school swimming pool with his right arm stuck in the vacuum line. The boy’s school teacher was holding him above the waterline.
Considerations
Each entrapment situation that we may be confronted with will be different but the way each is dealt with, follows a basic pattern. The first officer on scene needs to consider the following:
• Assess the situation
• Stabilise the patient
• Extract the victim
Important questions include:
• What hazards does the circumstances and entrapment pose for rescuers and victim?
• Is the water level in the swimming pool rising or stable?
• How big is the swimming pool and what type of pump system does it have?
• Is the victim stable or unstable?
• Time of the day; this will affect the water temperature and complicate the rescue operations as it becomes darker.
• What is the quickest and acceptably safe way of getting into a position to be able to rescue the victim?
We tasked two fire and rescue technicians who were highly qualified in aquatic rescue, medical and structural rescue to enter the swimming pool. Their function was to support, treat, monitor and stabilise the patient against drowning and hypothermia and to provide constant feedback on their progress and the condition of the patient and the level of entrapment.
We called for more advance medical life support and placed the hospital on standby. We also focused on the victim’s body temperature, which would drop more rapidly in water than on land. It doesn’t take long for hypothermia to set in. If a child is shivering or experiencing muscle cramps, he needs to get out of the water as soon as possible.
Using portable pumps, fire fighters drained 600 000 litres of water from the pool to reach the safe working environment for the patient and rescuers. With the boy entrapped in the pool with his head barely above water, fire fighters and paramedics attempted to lubricate the boy’s arm using K-Y Jelly, Vaseline and grease to free him from the outlet pipe. However, this did not work.
The decision was eventually made to use a concrete breaker, chisels and a reciprocating saw to chip, dig and cut a 30cm by 60cm reinforced hole more than 60cm deep down to the pipe and remove the shutdown valve to increase access to the pipe.
They covered the boy with hard protection, protecting him from flying chunks of concrete and he was given ear protection to muffle the noise and a mask to protect him inhaling dust. Rescuers placed two trauma boards below and above the nine-year old’s arm to protect it in case a chisel slipped.
Fire fighters and paramedics were concerned about hurting the boy further with their tools. After a considerable time, they managed to free the child and he was taken to hospital with the pipe still attached to his arm.
The hospital safely removed the pipe after another two hours in theatre and no damage was reported to the hand and arm.
Summary
The rescue technicians took a lot of specifics in consideration during the rescue operation. These included:
• It takes less time in cold water before the temperature of the heart, brain and internal organs begins to drop but skin and muscle temperatures cool far quicker, which may impair some essential early lifesaving actions.
• Children cool much faster than adults because they are smaller and have less fat. Boys usually cool faster than girls.
• Swimming may give a feeling of warmth but it accelerates muscle cooling. The body may produce more heat when swimming but it is also more quickly lost from the arm and leg muscles.
• Normal clothes will not produce much insulation against cold water but they will slow down the rate of loss of vital body heat.
• Wearing approved personal flotation devices, immersion suits and properly fitting wet suits will decrease the likelihood of hypothermia during the rescue event.
Signs and symptoms to look out for include uncontrollable rapid breathing, with possible dizziness and pins and needles, panic and a notable increase in both heart rate and blood pressure. Dangers include shock, drowning and stroke or heart attack.
Preventative measures should include the wearing of approved lifejackets, clothing with good insulating and waterproofing properties, immersion suits (dry/wet). It is also important to hold on to some support and attempting not to move. We gave him plenty of fluids, particularly water, to prevent dehydration. We also monitored his airway, breathing and circulation, tried to prevent further loss of heat and protect him from wind.
Apart from the loss or damage to the limb, hypothermia was our biggest concern. First the skin and limbs cool rapidly; then the heart, brain, and other deeper parts of the body. Hypothermia occurs when deep body temperature drops by at least two degrees Celsius. Body build, body fat, fitness level and types of clothing worn, all affect its rate of onset.
The calculated actions of the rescue teams prevented such a young child from losing his arm and also the onset of shock and hypothermia. A basic understanding of the workings of a pool is very important so that you can react timeously to save a victim. All it takes is an inch of water. That’s it.
This week’s featured Fire and Rescue International magazine article is: Suction entrapment in swimming pools: a case study written by Julius Fleischman and Neville van Rensburg, SAMRO (FRI Vol 3 no 6). We will be sharing more technical/research/tactical articles from Fire and Rescue International magazine on a weekly basis with our readers to assist in technology transfer. This will hopefully create an increased awareness, providing you with hands-on advice and guidance. All our magazines are available free of charge in PDF format on our website and online at ISSUU. We also provide all technical articles as a free download in our article archive on our website.
Suction entrapment in swimming pools: a case study
By Julius Fleischman and Neville van Rensburg, SAMRO
Kids need constant supervision around water, whether the water is in a bathtub, a wading pool, an ornamental fish pond, a swimming pool, a spa, the beach or a lake.
Young children are especially vulnerable; they can drown in less than six centimetres of water. That means drowning can happen where you'd least expect it: the sink, the toilet bowl, fountains, buckets, inflatable pools or small bodies of standing water around the home, such as ditches filled with rainwater.
On 20 February 2015, a boy in the Free State Province of South Africa barely escaped with his life when he became entrapped in the drain pipe of a local swimming pool.
Statistics
Since the 1980's there have been at least 147 incidents documented of suction entrapment in swimming pools, including 36 deaths. Suction entrapment occurs when a swimmer, usually a small child, is trapped by the suction forces created by the water rushing out of the drain at the bottom of the pool. In some cases, swimmers have been trapped underwater until they drowned and in others they have suffered serious injuries to various parts of their bodies.
Between January 1990 and August 2004, the Consumer Product Safety Commission reported 74 cases of body or limb entrapment in swimming pools, resulting in 13 deaths. During that same period, the commission also reported 43 incidents of hair entrapment or entanglement in pools or spas, resulting in 12 deaths and two cases of young children being disembowelled by drains.
Entrapment is one of the hidden dangers of swimming pools many people aren’t aware of, until it’s too late.
For the rescuer and the public to understand why, we need to know the basics of pool and spa circulation. Pool and spa drains are different from those in sinks or bathtubs. Pool drains are actually part of a circulation system that’s driven by a pump to filter and maintain water quality. Water is continually being sucked into the drains and recirculated back into the pool.
Swimmers, who come in contact with these suction outlets, can become entrapped, especially if the cover is broken or improperly installed. In some cases a vacuum can form, making it nearly impossible to free the victim.
There are five types of entrapment:
• Body entrapment
• Limb entrapment
• Evisceration
• Mechanical entrapment
• Hair entrapment
All often lead to drowning.
So, what does the law state in South Africa about every public pool that we have; about an anti-entrapment drain cover to prevent such tragedies? The next time you visit your local pool, school or waterpark, make sure you ask the manager if they comply with this law.
Ultimately, the issue of entrapment is just one more reason supervision is so important when it comes to water safety.
In a life-threatening situation, when possible, it is necessary that the most qualified individuals available provide all assistance necessary during every moment of the situation. But when seconds count, there must be no delay in determining who is more qualified.
Rescuers nightmare
Scenario: a child came in contact with a suction outlet in a swimming pool and was entrapped. The cover was broken or improperly installed and it was impossible to free the victim who was trapped in the suction force. His head was barely above water and he was standing on his toes in a swimming pool.
The nine-year old child’s hand and forearm were stuck approximately 25cm into the suction pipe. Rescuers needed to act very fast.
The aim was to ensure that the victim could breathe and that the situation did not deteriorate further. The solution had to be quick and simple. Rescuers had to consider the level of entrapment, drowning and hypothermia, especially with the patient being a very young child.
The plan of action to extract the child had to include time, safety measures and team work.
Case study: Free State Mangaung fire fighters chisel child’s arm from vacuum line
That was precisely what happened on Friday, 20 February 2015, when fire fighters and rescuers from Mangaung Fire Department started a four-hour long rescue operation to free a nine-year old child from entrapment. A rescuer’s nightmare.
At about 13h00, Mangaung fire fighters and paramedics were called to a local school in response to a call of a child who was trapped in a school swimming pool.
When the first units arrived, they found the nine-year-old boy in the school swimming pool with his right arm stuck in the vacuum line. The boy’s school teacher was holding him above the waterline.
Considerations
Each entrapment situation that we may be confronted with will be different but the way each is dealt with, follows a basic pattern. The first officer on scene needs to consider the following:
• Assess the situation
• Stabilise the patient
• Extract the victim
Important questions include:
• What hazards does the circumstances and entrapment pose for rescuers and victim?
• Is the water level in the swimming pool rising or stable?
• How big is the swimming pool and what type of pump system does it have?
• Is the victim stable or unstable?
• Time of the day; this will affect the water temperature and complicate the rescue operations as it becomes darker.
• What is the quickest and acceptably safe way of getting into a position to be able to rescue the victim?
We tasked two fire and rescue technicians who were highly qualified in aquatic rescue, medical and structural rescue to enter the swimming pool. Their function was to support, treat, monitor and stabilise the patient against drowning and hypothermia and to provide constant feedback on their progress and the condition of the patient and the level of entrapment.
We called for more advance medical life support and placed the hospital on standby. We also focused on the victim’s body temperature, which would drop more rapidly in water than on land. It doesn’t take long for hypothermia to set in. If a child is shivering or experiencing muscle cramps, he needs to get out of the water as soon as possible.
Using portable pumps, fire fighters drained 600 000 litres of water from the pool to reach the safe working environment for the patient and rescuers. With the boy entrapped in the pool with his head barely above water, fire fighters and paramedics attempted to lubricate the boy’s arm using K-Y Jelly, Vaseline and grease to free him from the outlet pipe. However, this did not work.
The decision was eventually made to use a concrete breaker, chisels and a reciprocating saw to chip, dig and cut a 30cm by 60cm reinforced hole more than 60cm deep down to the pipe and remove the shutdown valve to increase access to the pipe.
They covered the boy with hard protection, protecting him from flying chunks of concrete and he was given ear protection to muffle the noise and a mask to protect him inhaling dust. Rescuers placed two trauma boards below and above the nine-year old’s arm to protect it in case a chisel slipped.
Fire fighters and paramedics were concerned about hurting the boy further with their tools. After a considerable time, they managed to free the child and he was taken to hospital with the pipe still attached to his arm.
The hospital safely removed the pipe after another two hours in theatre and no damage was reported to the hand and arm.
Summary
The rescue technicians took a lot of specifics in consideration during the rescue operation. These included:
• It takes less time in cold water before the temperature of the heart, brain and internal organs begins to drop but skin and muscle temperatures cool far quicker, which may impair some essential early lifesaving actions.
• Children cool much faster than adults because they are smaller and have less fat. Boys usually cool faster than girls.
• Swimming may give a feeling of warmth but it accelerates muscle cooling. The body may produce more heat when swimming but it is also more quickly lost from the arm and leg muscles.
• Normal clothes will not produce much insulation against cold water but they will slow down the rate of loss of vital body heat.
• Wearing approved personal flotation devices, immersion suits and properly fitting wet suits will decrease the likelihood of hypothermia during the rescue event.
Signs and symptoms to look out for include uncontrollable rapid breathing, with possible dizziness and pins and needles, panic and a notable increase in both heart rate and blood pressure. Dangers include shock, drowning and stroke or heart attack.
Preventative measures should include the wearing of approved lifejackets, clothing with good insulating and waterproofing properties, immersion suits (dry/wet). It is also important to hold on to some support and attempting not to move. We gave him plenty of fluids, particularly water, to prevent dehydration. We also monitored his airway, breathing and circulation, tried to prevent further loss of heat and protect him from wind.
Apart from the loss or damage to the limb, hypothermia was our biggest concern. First the skin and limbs cool rapidly; then the heart, brain, and other deeper parts of the body. Hypothermia occurs when deep body temperature drops by at least two degrees Celsius. Body build, body fat, fitness level and types of clothing worn, all affect its rate of onset.
The calculated actions of the rescue teams prevented such a young child from losing his arm and also the onset of shock and hypothermia. A basic understanding of the workings of a pool is very important so that you can react timeously to save a victim. All it takes is an inch of water. That’s it.