Dad’s quest for pool light safety rules heads to Tallahassee

Chris Sloan was devastated after his 7-year-old son, Calder, was electrocuted in the family pool last April when a faulty pool light connection electrified the water.

So he made pool safety his mission, convincing county officials in Miami-Dade and Broward to ban high-voltage pool lights. Now, local legislators are taking up the cause in Tallahassee, with two bills filed this week.

But the loss of their son has not become any easier for Sloan, his wife Carla, and their surviving son, 5-year-old Caleb.

“I don’t know if it’s ever not going to be brutal. We’re adapting,” said Sloan, of North Miami, who owns a television production company. “The further away you get from the event, at least you don’t cry every day, but it’s a different sadness as I get further away. My son is more and more a part of the past.”

Bills filed by Sen. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood, and Rep. Rick Stark, D-Weston, mandate underwater electrical inspections every five years for pools at water-therapy facilities, condominiums and unlicensed child-care agencies. All are currently exempt from inspections.

The bills also ban any pool light over 15 volts and would make any contract to sell a residential property with a pool include a warning about pool electrical systems.

But getting those rules in place could be an uphill battle. Stark and Sobel are Democrats and the heavily Republican legislature might not even give a hearing to the legislation that might have saved Calder’s life.

“We know that Democrats in our legislature face challenges getting bills passed, so right now we’re begging to have help from ‘our friends across the aisle,’ as the politicians would say,” Sloan said.

The push to get new laws passed, both locally and at the state level, has been an education for Sloan, who was largely apolitical before his son died.

“It’s pretty intimidating the amount of work to be done. Today’s a good day, but I’ve been up to Palm Beach County and got nowhere,” he said. “The amount of time Miami-Dade and Broward have spent on this is huge, but in Palm Beach, they shut me down after three minutes. So, some days you have great days, and some days you have really bad days.”

Sloan’s next step is to lobby for a federal law. He met with U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel Tuesday and wants to discuss the issue with U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz as well.

“She was so instrumental when she was in the state [legislature] in getting fences around pools where there are children,” he said.

Along with federal legislation, Sloan has also been continuing his efforts to get local ordinances passed.

“Cities and counties have incentives that they can do that the state can’t do, like reducing inspection fees,” he said.

Sloan’s successes in Miami-Dade and Broward counties included incentives for homeowners to replace old, high-voltage lights with newer, low-voltage ones.

“It’s not an expensive process to downgrade your lighting,” he said. “It should be a no brainer.”

Sloan likens his sudden foray into politics to the start of a new career.

“It’s a second job and it’s emotional,” he said. “There’s moments when you feel you’re getting something accomplished, but it’s like the more you know, the less you know.”

Sloan believes homeowners making sure their pools and electrical systems are inspected is of utmost importance.

“There’s an awareness process. Government can’t solve all ills,” he said. “My dream scenario would be for insurance companies to incentivize getting pools inspected and give a discount if a pool is safe. Everything comes down to money.”