Summer is here – lifeguards return to beaches

St. Johns County Fire Rescue told Historic City News this morning that a local team of United States Lifesaving Association certified beach lifeguards will officially begin full-scale guarded beaches this Saturday, May 25, 2013.

The lifeguards will staff an average of 16 lifeguard towers daily from 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. in addition to supervisors traveling the coastline in various response vehicles.

“Please take notice of beach flags and signage posted at beach access points and lifeguard towers located throughout St Johns County, as they provide daily condition updates to beachgoers,” St Johns County Fire Rescue spokesman Jeremy Robshaw told Historic City News. “These locations also post valuable safety information — specifically dealing with rip currents and other common beach hazards.”

Career Fire Rescue personnel are housed at coastal stations and have been certified as ocean rescue responders. They will help supplement the daily beach staff and provide emergency response 24-hours a day. This staffing pattern will remain in place, daily; until Labor Day weekend which traditionally marks the conclusion of the beach season.

As our readers and your families visit the beach this holiday weekend, and throughout the summer, Robshaw reminds you of the following beach safety tips.

Swim near a lifeguard– Statistics over a ten year period show that the chance of drowning at a beach without lifeguard protection is almost five times as great as drowning at a beach with lifeguards.

Learn to swim– Learning to swim is the best defense against drowning. Teach children to swim at an early age. Children who are not taught when they are very young tend to avoid swim instruction as the age, probably due to embarrassment. Swimming Instruction is a crucial step to protecting children from injury or death.

Never swim alone– Many drowning victims are single swimmers. When you swim with a buddy, if one of you has a problem, the other may be able to help, including signaling for assistance from others. At least have someone onshore watching you when you swim.

Don’t fight the current– It is said that some 80% of rescues by lifeguards at the ocean beaches are caused by rip currents. These currents formed by surf and gravity, because once surf pushes water up the slope of the beach, gravity pulls it back. This can create concentrated rivers of water moving offshore. Some people mistakenly call this an undertow, but there is no undercurrent, just an offshore current. If you are caught in a rip current, don’t fight it by trying to swim directly to shore. Instead, swim parallel to shore until you feel the current relax then swim to shore. Most rip currents are narrow and a short swim parallel to shore will bring you to safety.

Swim sober– Alcohol is a major factor in drowning. In fact it account for nearly 60% of drowning incidents involving adults. Alcohol can reduce body temperature and impair swimming ability. Perhaps more importantly, both alcohol and drugs impair good judgment, which may cause people to take risks they would not otherwise take.