Swimming pools at Las Vegas Athletic Club gym closed after customer death

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) – Swimming pools at all Las Vegas Athletic Club locations across the valley are officially closed.

This is according to an email that Chairman and CEO Todd O. Smith sent to members on Wednesday morning.

We have been following this story for months after the Southern Nevada Health District first announced that it would no longer issue waivers or variances that would allow swimming pools at gyms to operate without lifeguards.

RELATED: Some swimming pools could be threatened with closure if they do not comply with SNHD regulations

The decision to lift the exemptions was made following the death of a customer at an LVAC location.

A video reviewed by the health department shows that the deceased person “was in distress for about twenty minutes without any response from the LVAC,” a department spokesman said earlier.

The health department had granted exemptions to LVAC and other gyms in the area allowing their pools to operate without lifeguards as long as they followed certain safety measures.

However, the health department said the LVAC had violated some of these requirements, including failing to remotely monitor the pool area and having staff conduct regular patrols.

LVAC later filed suit in district court, stating that the deceased person was not alone in the pool area and was “surrounded by at least 15 other guests” who were unaware of the emergency.

RELATED: Channel 13 wanted to learn more about drowning prevention, so we went to Alexis Park Resort where a lifeguard certification course was being held.

Drowning can be a 'silent killer,' lifeguards say after video shows a drowning man in a Las Vegas pool

A hearing was held on July 11, and on July 23, the court issued an order denying LVAC's motion.

LVAC was not the only gym affected. The health district's enforcement action says several affected gyms have since resumed operations under an approved plan or have plans currently under review. Officials listed those locations as follows:

EOS Fitness:

• 3325 E. Russell Rd., Las Vegas, NV 89120
• 8125 W. Sahara Ave. Ste. 100, Las Vegas, NV 89117
• 4520 N. Scott Robinson Blvd., North Las Vegas, NV 89031
• 3511 St. Rose Pkwy., Henderson, NV 89052

UFC FIT (pending approval):

• 5651 Centennial Center Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89149

LVAC submitted a draft lifeguard plan to the Health Department on August 2. Health Department staff responded to LVAC's plan on August 6, noting that it did not meet regulatory requirements, including requirements related to lifeguard personnel, task assignments and certifications.

Revised versions of the LVAC lifeguard staffing plans were submitted on August 9 and 15, but were not approved due to incomplete information. The Health Department and LVAC are meeting this week to finalize the draft lifeguard staffing plan.