IN A COMMUNITY POOL (APPROX. 25x100 FT) WHERE A LIFEGUARD IS PRESENT ARE THERE
ANY STUDIES REGARDING IF ITS BETTER/SAFER FOR THE PUBLIC FOR HIM/HER
TO BE IN AN ELEVATED CHAIR VS.A DECK LEVEL CHAIR TO SEE AT A DEEPER
DEPTH
 (IN A CLEAR WATER POOL). IN OTHER WORDS.. DOES CERTAIN HEIGHT ANGLE'S
OF THE LIFEGUARD CHAIR ALLOW THEM TO SEE DEEPER INTO THE POOL IF THE WATER IS
CLEAR.

I used to be a lifeguard, so I feel I'm semi-qualified for this.

Pros for putting a guard in an elevated chair:
Putting a lifeguard above the pool separates him/her from the crowd
and commotion that goes on at any community pool. Not only can you see
directly down from where you are sitting, but you also have a better
viewing angle on corners. Putting a lifeguard above the action also
allows for him/her to be seen by others easily. Most of the time a
lifeguard isn't diving into pools and saving lives, but directing kids
with cuts or scrapes to a first aid station. Having a lifeguard in a
high position also allows for a good dive into a pool (providing it
isn't overly crowded or shallow).

Cons for putting a guard in an elevated chair:
-Restricted to one location, one viewing angle
-Slow to climb down chair in case of a non-drowning emergency
-In an crowded pool, might have a difficult time diving in for a save

I'd say usually for community pools lifeguards are put in high chairs.
For lap pools lifeguards are better on foot since the pool is larger
and there isn't a crowd to be distracted by. The best situation for a
long skinny pool would be two guards in high chairs, staggered on
opposite sides of the pool , 10 yards  from the ends. This would
provide good visibility to the corners, provide two locations with two
viewing angles. Hope that helps.

Thank you moocowjuice.. I want to present this idea for an elevated
chair to our board and I wanted as much research and perspectives as I
could get first. A little 13 year old boy drowned over the weekend
here with a lifeguard on duty and in broad daylight. Last night was
his funeral. I never want to go to another. I want to make our pool
safer even though I know it can never be 100%. I kept thinking why do
some pools have no chair and others have high chairs. Even though the
pool isn't "large" would it make it, in any way,a safer enviornment
and allow for the guard to see more of a depth into the pool. These
guards though certified are mostly children themselves and also only
human so if you have an elevated chair would you be less distracted,
more apt to be focused and in control? I don't know any guards but I
feel for the one who was there this weekend. Can the chair height
allow for better visuals if a child is lying on the bottom in 6ft of
water?

A high chair will definitely allow a guard to see a larger amount of
the bottom of the pool, but really a lifeguard should never allow a
drowning to develop to that stage. A lifeguard's sole responsibility
is to make sure nobody dies while swimming. People can fall down and
get cuts or bruises and everybody still goes home at the end of the
day.

If a guard can't easily spot a drowning in a pool, several things might be wrong.

-The pool might be too crowded. Put one lifeguard on duty with one
swimmer in the pool and the swimmer will never drown. Put 200 people
in a pool and not only is that lifeguard going to have a near
impossible time keeping an eye on everybody, but, in your tragic case,
the guard will have a hard if not impossible time seeing past the legs
and to the bottom of the pool. Every pool should have a "safe"
capacity, and should be followed.
-The guard might be distracted. Hire a 16 year old to watch 16 year
olds and he or she will get distracted. Hire a 25 year old to watch 16
year olds, and he or she will be less likely to be distracted. I feel
that putting a guard up in a chair would reduce distractions along
with improving the ability for the guard to perform his or her job
better.
-The guard might not have received proper training. Has the guard
actually ever seen a drowning person before? You can't begin to save a
drowning victim until you have correctly identified the victim.
-There might be too few guards on duty. A pool as large as the one you
mentioned really should have two guards on duty. Here is a rough
diagram of the pool. I believe there should be guards at the X's.

                                    X
                      --------------------
                      |                  |
                      |                  |
                      |                  |
                      --------------------
                           X

Why two guards? Well ideally there should be at least three guards on
duty. One resting/performing first aids. The other two should either
be in chairs in the shown positions or one should be in a chair at the
halfway point while the other walks the other side.

                               X
                      --------------------
                      |                  |
                      |                  |
                      |                  |
                      --------------------
                       <-------X-------->

The guards should be rotated every hour to allow for a chance to rest
and to prevent the guards from getting used to their position and
missing something.

A lot of these things mentioned come down to the amount of money
involved. How much does the owner of the pool (the city?) want to
spend. Getting new equipment costs money, hiring older more
experienced guards costs more money, hiring more guards costs more
money, etc. It's a shame that something like this had to happen to
create change, but hopefully the errors will be recognized and
solutions will be drawn up to correct them.

Good luck with everything.