911 caller said Raleigh pool where teen drowned was electrified

A caller told a 911 dispatcher Saturday afternoon that he couldn’t try to help a 17-year-old girl found floating in a community pool because the water was electrified.

Rachel Anna Rosoff, a senior at Enloe High School, was electrocuted and drowned in the Heritage Point subdivision pool in North Raleigh, the Wake County Sheriff’s Office said.

The 911 caller, whose name was not released, said he had just arrived for a lifeguard shift at the pool on Saturday afternoon and found Rosoff in the water.

He said he thought Rosoff, also a lifeguard, had arrived for an earlier shift and might have been cleaning debris from the pool after a storm the prior night.

The caller said he tried to reach Rosoff but was shocked by the water.

“I realized immediately if I dive in there to get her out, I’m not going to be able to handle that shock and I might join her,” he told the dispatcher.

The sheriff’s office said in a statement Monday that a preliminary autopsy showed that Rosoff was electrocuted and drowned in the pool, located off of Creedmoor Road near Interstate 540.

On Tuesday, investigators were at the pool, but no information was released about what might have caused electricity in the water. The sheriff’s office is investigating, along with the Wake County District’s Attorney’s Office, the N.C. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Wake County inspections department.

The Heritage Point pool has passed all of its county inspections the last two years, said Jennifer Heiss, a Wake County spokeswoman.

When health inspectors check Wake’s roughly 1,165 pools, they look for several safety factors, including ensuring chemicals are at proper levels, sanitary facilities are provided and the main drain covers are visible and function properly, Heiss said.

Electrical equipment is not part of the regular inspections.

Like other construction projects, when pools are built they must pass initial inspections, including a requirement that electrical equipment meets state code. But electrical systems aren’t inspected again unless a new permit is required, such as for major renovations, said Tim Maloney, director of Wake County Planning, Development & Inspections.

The Heritage Point pool, which dates back to 1979, received construction and electrical permits when it was built, Maloney said.

The pool was inspected three times for health and safety in 2016, including two unannounced visits in June and July, Heiss said.

Aquatic Management Group, which manages the pool, was set to mark its final day for the summer on Labor Day. An online schedule said one lifeguard was scheduled per shift to work Saturday.

The group is “shaken by the loss of such a vibrant young life,” the company said in a statement.

“Our deepest sympathy is extended to the family in this time of unfathomable grief,” the statement said. “We are cooperating with investigators in every possible way and are hopeful that the investigation may provide an explanation for this tragedy.”

Inspectors with the N.C. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Division are looking for any violations of safety and health standards, said spokeswoman Dolores Quesenberry.

A preliminary report from the department is expected in the next few days, Quesenberry said. Full reports typically take three to four months.

Electrocutions at swimming pools are rare. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has reports of 14 deaths related to electrocutions in pools from 2003 to 2014.

Many sources could cause electricity in the water, including underwater lights, electrical cords, pumps or overhead power lines, said Alex Antoniou, chief marketing and information officer at the National Swimming Pool Foundation in Colorado.

“Water is a great conductor of electricity, especially when it comes to pool water because of all the additional chemicals,” Antoniou said.

Dedicated to arts, charity

Rosoff was a member of Enloe’s improv comedy troupe and helped start the Food Ark, a student-run nonprofit that works to reduce hunger in the community.

“She had a passion for the arts, she had a passion for charities and just as sweet as she could be,” said Phoebe Dillard, an Enloe theater teacher.

Rosoff was always willing to help out, and she didn’t complain about working hard, Shiao “Ching” Tse, the Food Ark’s founder, said in an email.

“She made ‘work’ very fun with her goofy personality,” Tse said. “She always wore a smile and brightened everybody’s day with her lightheartedness.”

Grief counselors were available at the school Tuesday to meet with students. Some students wrote condolence cards to Rosoff’s family, Dillard said.

Dillard said she was close with Rosoff, whom she could count on to serve as a positive example for other students.

“It’s rare that you just have an automatic leader who you know, who you trust and can get things done,” she said.

Wake County school board member Jim Martin praised Rosoff, who was a close friend of his son.

“She was a very inspirational young woman, pretty amazing in the improv,” Martin said during public comments at Tuesday’s school board meeting. “It’s a life that should be celebrated. I know the folks at Enloe are working hard to surround the family, the students, but it’s a somber time for all of us.”

Staff writer T. Keung Hui contributed.

This story was originally published September 6, 2016 at 11:47 AM with the headline "911 caller said Raleigh pool where teen drowned was electrified."