A 9-year-old girl in Citrus Heights, Calif., died after being electrocuted in her family’s swimming pool. The girl, McKenzie Kinley, was swimming with a few friends and reportedly came into contact with a loose wire from a pool light that was under repair.
"I know they were racing from one end of the pool to the other, and I guess, apparently, she got to the other side of the pool and grabbed a hold of the cord of the light. That’s all I know. The next thing you know, I got the worst phone call you could ever have,” said McKenzie’s father, Cliff Kinley, to WKYT.
"Everybody thinks — they watch these tragic stories on the news — they think, ‘Not me. Not in my house.’ I thought it. It happened to me in my house,” said McKenzie’s mother, Elizabeth Moore.
While pool electrocutions are rare, they are devastating to the affected families and the pool industry at large. Recently, a new technology for pools has been developed by S.R. Smith and CCEI to dramatically reduce the risk of electrocution from pool lights by powering those lights without a direct wired connection, such as the one that led to this tragedy. Read about this new technology here.
Additional AQUA resources:
Avoiding Electrical Missteps
How to Test a Swimming Pool Bonding Grid
When it Comes to Pool Lighting, Think Safety First
