Unfortunately we have not had our pool long and have suffered a house fire. It spread from the neighbors house to ours. We got word today that it will need to come down to the slab and be inspected. I found this website while the pool was going in and didn’t know what I know now. There is glass, tile, and metal in the pool. The metal is causing stains. The power is off at the house so I’ve very limited in what we can do. I tried brushing everything into the deep end to clean out but the water becomes murky and I can’t see. I know the pool will have to be drained if we can save it and we don’t have a sump pipe or anything, lessons learned. Any helpful advise would be appreciated. Most pool companies won’t even entertain helping at this point.
House fire
- Thread starter sean316
- Start date
This is so awful - sorry for your lost and the difficult times ahead in rebuilding, managing family and work.
Our neighbor had a fire some years ago and their pool also a mess. It is probably the last thing you need to worry about at this time. The preferred option is to drain it because it has a bunch of stuff in it and it will get more with new construction. Have a company come drain it and drill a couple of holes in the deep end so the pool does not float up.
Then during reconstruction, plan to have all your plumbing checked, and if they digging up the yard, mark where the underground pipes are located.
When the time comes to focus on the pool, best you chip out all the plaster and start again. You may need to redo coping and tiles as well depending on damage to items falling in the pool.
At the end, my neighbor's pool and backyard oasis turned out great with new plaster, new decking, new pool equipment, outdoor kitchen, etc. Yours can to but suggest pool is secondary to rebuilding your house and life.
Our neighbor had a fire some years ago and their pool also a mess. It is probably the last thing you need to worry about at this time. The preferred option is to drain it because it has a bunch of stuff in it and it will get more with new construction. Have a company come drain it and drill a couple of holes in the deep end so the pool does not float up.
Then during reconstruction, plan to have all your plumbing checked, and if they digging up the yard, mark where the underground pipes are located.
When the time comes to focus on the pool, best you chip out all the plaster and start again. You may need to redo coping and tiles as well depending on damage to items falling in the pool.
At the end, my neighbor's pool and backyard oasis turned out great with new plaster, new decking, new pool equipment, outdoor kitchen, etc. Yours can to but suggest pool is secondary to rebuilding your house and life.
- Nov 12, 2017
- 11,860
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Pardon me Herman, but I think they've got a fiberglass pool, and that shouldn't be drained, as the water is part of the structure and depending on surrounding soil conditions might be holding the pool's shape.
Sean, so sorry to hear about your situation. Just awful. For what it's worth, when my house was flooded I thought the worst. I struggled through the remodel, but then I ended up with a brand new interior and I was way better off. I know that's a long way from now, but it's waiting for you!
I imagine it'll be a while before you get electricity. Can you buy or borrow a generator? An electrician could wire it into your pool's sub-panel and get your filter pump going again. That would clear your water up and allow you to vacuum the bottom. You could then continue chlorinating it, to keep it from going green. Then you could cover it to ward off cleanup/construction debris.
My insurance company would pay for a generator rental. Maybe something to ask yours about?
Or you could buy a robot cleaner and mooch some electricity for it from a neighbor. That will clean the bottom (no pool pump needed) and possibly do some filtering too. It would also circulate the water enough to keep the chlorine mixed around. What a great excuse to get the robot you've been wanting!
Sean, so sorry to hear about your situation. Just awful. For what it's worth, when my house was flooded I thought the worst. I struggled through the remodel, but then I ended up with a brand new interior and I was way better off. I know that's a long way from now, but it's waiting for you!
I imagine it'll be a while before you get electricity. Can you buy or borrow a generator? An electrician could wire it into your pool's sub-panel and get your filter pump going again. That would clear your water up and allow you to vacuum the bottom. You could then continue chlorinating it, to keep it from going green. Then you could cover it to ward off cleanup/construction debris.
My insurance company would pay for a generator rental. Maybe something to ask yours about?
Or you could buy a robot cleaner and mooch some electricity for it from a neighbor. That will clean the bottom (no pool pump needed) and possibly do some filtering too. It would also circulate the water enough to keep the chlorine mixed around. What a great excuse to get the robot you've been wanting!
Last edited:
- Jun 22, 2014
- 47,802
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
That is horrible. Very sorry. If possible, I would continue to manually remove as much metal and foreign objects as possible to help prevent staining. Do it now while you can still see in the water. Other than that, if you can't get power to the pool, let it turn green and worry about it later. Focus on your family and home for now. The pool will be fine. Best of luck. Prayers.
- Jul 17, 2019
- 3,714
- Pool Size
- 13000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Wow, so sorry. I would try and get all that you can out of there, then look for some sort of cover that will keep future debris from the house demo and re-construction out of the pool. Those workers are messy and you do not want to constantly be digging nails and debris out of the pool.
Given the fact that you have no power, have a lot more important things to do, and insurance $ will be involved, I would recommend hiring a pool cleanup company to clean and cover your pool.
Given the fact that you have no power, have a lot more important things to do, and insurance $ will be involved, I would recommend hiring a pool cleanup company to clean and cover your pool.
That sucks, and good luck. If this were my pool, I would try to get out as much debris as possible right now. Either blindly scoop along the bottom with a leaf rake, or by use of brushing or a generator, get it clear-ish so you can see. Then I would get a solid safetly cover over the top, and leave it until the house is redone, to try to keep things out of the pool if possible. Assume that the solid cover will end up being junk after construction from construction debris falling on it and tearing it up.
For others here, assuming that there is no overflow port on teh pool, do they have to drain down water from time to time, or is it OK to overflow?
For others here, assuming that there is no overflow port on teh pool, do they have to drain down water from time to time, or is it OK to overflow?
I missed that point and agree not able to drain. However, I had another friend with a garage fire, no damage to the house, but the electrical panel was in the garage. It took over 3 weeks to restore power to the house. So be prepared that you may not have access to direct electricity unless you have a generator to power something specific or run power extension cords from a neighbor. Over the next couple of weeks will be investigation into the cause of fire into neighbors house, each insurance company will most likely send investigators, etc. So be prepared for a lot of people milling around.
I feel the pool is secondary and do what you can to remove debris or clean it, and possibly even cover it as mentioned by others. then deal with it once you start a reconstruction phase.
- Jul 21, 2013
- 52,508
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
That is terrible. Focus on your family and let the pool be part of your insurance companies problems.
If working on the pool gives you a break and takes your mind off of things then as others have suggested net out as much debris as you can. Let the water go green. We know how to fix that when the time comes. I would not btotehr tring to get a generator going and the pump running. You have more important things to do. Just secure the pool and maybe put a tarp over it.
If working on the pool gives you a break and takes your mind off of things then as others have suggested net out as much debris as you can. Let the water go green. We know how to fix that when the time comes. I would not btotehr tring to get a generator going and the pump running. You have more important things to do. Just secure the pool and maybe put a tarp over it.