New Canaan Swimming Facility Installs High-Tech Swimmer Protection System

NEW CANAAN, Conn. (CBSNewYork) - A Connecticut town has installed a cutting edge swimmer protection system at one of its very popular swimming holes.

As WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau reported, officials in New Canaan became the first municipality to implement a high-tech second layer of protection for swimmers.

Now, not only is Kiwanis Park staffed by lifeguards but the mostly children swimmers are protected by a location device called the Wahooo Swim Monitor System.

Dave Cutler, one of the company founders, explained the system works by kids heading into the water wearing a Swimband around their forehead.

The device sends out an alarm if the swimmer is submerged for more than 20 seconds.

"The Swimband transmits an ultrasonic signal to the system and the system alerts lifeguards via audiovisual indicators," said Cutler. "The sirens are located in each of those devices which you see around the lake. We call them surface units that are mounted poles and inside each one is a siren."

The system can monitor dozens of swimmers at the same time, according to the company. The device is effective in murky waters as well as crystal clear backyard pools.

Cutler and two of his close friends worked to create this system after losing a friend to drowning.

The SMS is produced by a Redding, Conn.-based company.

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