Florida health department closes pools in Hialeah; they were operating without permit

The Florida Department of Health has closed the three swimming pool facilities at Bucky Dent Water Park in Hialeah, one day after a swimmer was rescued from a possible drowning.

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Bucky Dent Water Park, located inside the 25-acre Bucky Dent Park complex, is a city-operated aquatic facility that includes a main pool, an activity pool and a plunge pool with water slides.

State inspectors ordered the temporary closure on Wednesday after determining the pools were operating without the required permits and were not in compliance with Florida’s public swimming pool safety regulations.

The closure came a day after an emergency at the water park involving an 80-year-old man who suffered a medical emergency while in one of the pools.

The city publicly announced the closure Wednesday afternoon on its official Instagram account, saying that “in light of the incident that occurred on Aug. 4 at Bucky Dent, the facility will be temporarily closed out of an abundance of caution while we conduct a thorough review and ensure the highest standards of safety and security are in place.”

When the Miami Herald sought clarification about the closure, Mayor Bryan Calvo’s spokesperson, Julio Ligorria, said the city wanted to ensure additional safety measures were in place, including cameras and video surveillance, and address issues identified after the incident.

Ligorria said there were also mechanical concerns, including a “pump that was acting up.”

However, Florida Department of Health closure notices stated that the facilities were operating without proper permits and warned that the violations “may endanger the health, safety or welfare” of people using the pools.

According to witnesses, park employees and the man who helped rescue the swimmer, the initial rescue was performed by a park patron, not a Hialeah lifeguard.

Kevin Palmer, a 33-year-old eighth-grade algebra teacher and former U.S. Army sergeant, was in the pool on Tuesday when he heard other swimmers alerting a lifeguard that a man had been underwater for an extended period.

Palmer said his military experience and rescue training prepared him to respond. He said he had trained with a former Air Force pararescue instructor, whose specialty was rescuing and recovering people in dangerous conditions.

“I took it upon myself to check on the man because everybody spread away,” Palmer said.

He said he put on his goggles, swam to the bottom of the pool and found the man unresponsive.

“I gave his shoulder a tap and I see he didn’t respond,” Palmer said. “So I immediately pulled him up onto my chest.”

Palmer said he brought the swimmer to the surface and helped move him to the edge of the pool before lifeguards took over.

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The city’s account differs.

Calvo’s spokesperson said lifeguards responded immediately.

“It was amazing, these guys acted immediately. They pulled him out of the water. They had to resuscitate him,” Ligorria said. “The lifeguards responded in a split second. I think it took about 15 or 20 seconds to get him out and resuscitate him.”

Palmer disputed that account, saying he did not see lifeguards begin CPR after he removed the swimmer from the water.

“I didn’t do CPR. I was getting ready to, but the lifeguards told me they got it from there,” he said. “It wasn’t until, I guess, one of the senior lifeguards came by like a minute or two later, and I overheard him saying, ‘Come on, let’s do CPR, chest compressions now.’”

Palmer said he stepped away to check on his daughter, who had witnessed the incident and was confused by what happened, but he said he believes CPR began later than it should have.

From ribbon-cutting to state closure

The closure came just five days after the City of Hialeah held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 31 to celebrate the reopening of Bucky Dent Water Park.

In a statement issued before the ceremony to the media, Calvo said, “After seven years, Bucky Dent Water Park is finally reopening, and Hialeah families will once again have a place to swim, gather and enjoy time together.”

However, city records and previous public announcements show the pools had hosted recreational programming and other activities at least through 2025.

‘Closed’ status

According to Florida Department of Health public records, the Bucky Dent Park pools were last inspected on Jan. 15, when the facility was listed with a status of “closed.” The records show the pools did not have an active operating status at the time of that inspection, unlike other public pools in Hialeah that have active operating statuses listed in state records.

The state Department of Health has not indicated that the violations cited in its closure notices caused or contributed to the medical emergency Tuesday. The closure notices also do not state that the emergency prompted the department’s inspection.

Still, the timing of the incident and the state’s action the following day have drawn renewed attention to the operation of the city-owned aquatic facility, including whether required permits had been obtained before it reopened.

The city has not publicly explained what approvals were in place before the reopening, why the pools were operating without the permit identified by the Health Department, or what corrective actions must be completed before the facilities can reopen.

The Herald also asked the city on what date the state Department of Health conducted its inspection before the reopening. The question followed the city’s announcement that construction work at the facility had been completed only about a week before. Hialeah did not provide details about any Health Department inspections or approvals obtained.

The Florida Department of Health regulates public swimming pools throughout the state and requires facilities to obtain operating permits and comply with sanitation, safety and operational standards before they may open to the public.

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