News Releases
Safety Turtle® Inks Deal for Canada-wide Distribution
Ottawa, ON, February 20, 2006 — Child and pet drowning prevention devices now more readily available for all Canadian families.
Terrapin Communications, Inc., maker of Safety Turtle, a personal wireless immersion alarm designed to protect young children, seniors, disabled persons and pets from drowning, today announced the Safety Turtle will be available in the more than 450 Canadian Tire retail outlets across Canada early March 2006. The Canadian Tire package contains a Safety Turtle base station, a Turtle, a locking wristband, and an adaptor for pet collar or life jacket attachment. Additional wristbands are packaged separately. A Turtle instantly detects immersion in water and sets off a loud alarm at the Base Station.
"As a franchisee and a grandparent of young children, I know the importance of utilizing products that enhance children's safety and protect my family, so I am pleased to now offer the Safety Turtle as part of our water safety line of products", said Adam Bucci, Canadian Tire dealer in Terrebonne, Quebec. "Any merchandise that can help Canadian families prevent drowning or near-drowning incidents is a great addition to our product line."
Recent Attention for Safety Turtle
Safety Turtle gained prominence with the Canadian houseboat rental industry last fall after a BC family lost a two-year old daughter to a tragic drowning. The youngster managed to escape her sleeping quarters in the early morning hours and either went down the houseboat slide into the water or fell off the houseboat. Following the incident, the Shuswap Houseboating Association held extensive meetings to determine the implementation of mandatory safety devices for children on houseboats. In an August 22nd, 2005 article in the Vancouver Sun, Shuswap Houseboating Association President, Howie Cyr commented, "We're certainly encouraging parents to utilize it when they're here, but here again, we can't make them put them on."
"Approximately 600 people drown each year in Canada in addition to numerous non-fatal water-related incidents and injuries," said John Blaicher, Water Incident Research Alliance (WIRA). "WIRA has collected data regarding water-related incidents, injuries and fatalities in Canada, and we know the importance of water safety devices, especially for children. If all other safety measures such as fences, gates or supervision fail, the Safety Turtle system can provide a last line of defense against a water-related incident or fatality."
About Terrapin Communications Inc.
Incorporated in Canada in 1998, Terrapin Communications Inc. is the sole owner and manufacturer of Safety Turtle, a personal wireless alerting system intended to prevent drowning. Inventor Bob Lyons, President of Terrapin Communications Inc., was the 2004 winner of the prestigious Manning Innovation Award for developing and commercializing the product. Safety Turtle meets all government safety requirements for children, and the extended-range, dual-alarm system complies with ASTM Standard FF2208-02 for pool alarms. Safety Turtle also addresses the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act requiring an alarm system and rescue equipment where a worker is exposed to a drowning hazard.
Safety Turtle is the only product on the market satisfying insurance underwriter recommendations that a portable aquatic-emergency summoning device should be used instead of a hard-wired emergency button or telephone in a public pool area. A Turtle attached to each lifeguard rescue buoy, which always goes into the water during a rescue, allows a single lifeguard to respond nearly immediately to an aquatic emergency, rather than having to travel from where s/he was standing to the emergency call button and then to the distressed swimmer.
Safety Turtle affords a layer of protection for rehabilitation patients who exercise in water. Patients wear a Turtle sun visor or a Turtle headphone for musical accompaniment. The alarm sounds the instant the patient's head goes under water
Virtual Lifeline, the world's first wireless lanyard and winner of the 2005 US Marine Manufacturers Association Innovation of the Year award, uses Safety Turtle technology.
With the introduction in 2006 of its wireless gate alarm, Safety Turtle now provides two layers of protection for children. A Base Station in the house alarms if a child manages to open the gate, if the gate fails to latch within 11 seconds of adult entry, or if a child wearing a Turtle wristband goes in the water. Because it has an adult bypass switch, the Safety Turtle gate alarm never has to be disarmed
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