A Pool Filter Explosion Kills Pool Tech

At the age of 42, Stephen Smith, owner of Quality Pool & Spa in Utah, died while servicing a residential pool. The tragic incident was due to a swimming pool filter top popping off, shooting up and shattering Smith's skull; however, the exact details of what happened are still under investigation by OSHA.

Smith and his wife Janine Smith became owners of Quality Pool and Spas, a repair business, in the Spring of 2022. Prior to his work as a pool repair technician, Smith worked as a nurse. The Smiths met each other in the Air Force, where he was an Air Force Reserve flight nurse. He started his career as a volunteer firefighter.

According to Janine, Smith was passionate about serving. He served as a search and rescue volunteer for the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office, where he would often respond to distress calls from hikers and others who found themselves in dangerous predicaments.

Smith’s neighbor, Greg Anderson, has organized a GoFundMe campaign to support the Smith family. Anderson said the money will go toward assisting the family with overwhelming “end-of-life” medical bills, as well as helping to finish off a project Smith had started in his backyard.

“He was a very handy guy, and he had completely rebuilt their backyard,” says Anderson in a statement to Service Industry News.

Anderson added that Smith had removed his home’s back deck and rebuilt it. He was also building a separate area of the yard for Janine to garden. 

Neighbors and friends of the Smith family, as well as funds from the GoFundMe, will contribute to completing the project that Smith can no longer finish. Anderson said that friends and neighbors were returning the love they’d received.

“The money’s nice; the money’s important,” says Anderson, "but this is a guy who deserves to be honored and deserves to be remembered.”

Smith leaves behind his wife, Janine, and two young daughters, Lillian and Abigail Smith.