Millions of visitors and locals hit the beaches, lakes, rivers and pools each year. But sometimes we need a little help, and there are lifeguards in place to do just that. No matter what kind of lifeguard you are, your one number task is not rescuing people, instead your main duty is to prevent and protect the public from getting into a dangerous situation in the first place. As a lifeguard, you are constantly looking for potential danger, and your job is to warn people before that danger becomes an issue.
Surveillance, Emergency Care, Maintenance Duties
Lifeguards are responsible for keeping swimmers’ safe, and must be able to intervene in dangerous situations. During lifeguard training, lifeguards learn to identify emergency situations quickly.
Lifeguards caution people against using unsafe areas, or using illegal conduct, such as drinking or fighting. That means as a lifeguard you must be able to remain calm in all situations, if you panic or show fear the victim or the trouble maker will know it.
Beach Lifeguards
Beach lifeguards will warn people about rip currents, remind parents that waves will knock their children down, and to keep your loved ones within view. Beach lifeguards must be proficient in using two-way radios for contact, and coordinate activities between the different emergency rescue units. Beach lifeguards also have to maintain daily information on weather and beach conditions.
Beach lifeguards are constantly scanning the water in a similar pattern as a pool lifeguard, but they have a much larger surface to cover, and can rarely see below the water, so it is important to keep the beach lifeguard vigilant. Most facilities frequently rotate beach lifeguards from station to station to help them stay fresh and alert, and to offer breaks from surveillance responsibilities. Beach lifeguards, as well as pool lifeguards must be distraction-free, that means no cell phones and other items that take their eyes off the water.
Pool Lifeguards
Pool lifeguards keep patrons’ safe around and in the pool, from reminding people to walk, so they avoid slip and fall injuries, to stopping rough housing. They also teach swim lessons, and encourage things like the buddy system to keep you safe. Beach lifeguards supervise the use of water slides, and diving boards (if applicable), as well as pool maintenance, such as checking the swimming pools chlorine and pH levels.
Pool lifeguards scan the water, just like beach lifeguards do, looking for swimmers in trouble. They are trained to make a scanning pattern, by sweeping their eyes side to side or up and down looking at sections of the zone they are responsible for. This scanning method will happen every 10 seconds. It is suggested that they change their posture, position, and pattern every five minutes to keep them aware.
Both Beach and Pool Lifeguards
Provide emergency care and treatment such as CPR, and or use equipment like using spine boards and rescue tubes, as required until the arrival of EMTs. This year in particular beach lifeguards have had to administer first aid for stingray stings, using portable stingray kits.
Both lifeguard types perform various maintenance duties, as directed, to maintain a clean and safe facility.
Both lifeguard types will prepare daily activity reports.
Now that you understand some of the day to day duties of a lifeguard, our next posts will cover what it takes to get through lifeguard training, followed by lifeguard certification and testing, and ending with what to expect at lifeguard tryouts. Once this series is complete, you will have all the information you need to make an advised decision on whether or not becoming a lifeguard is right for you.
Who doesn’t love dogs. At Original Watermen, we salute all rescue dogs, but one in particular, Moby. Moby is our mascot, and he is a big beautiful platinum Golden Retriever. Moby accompanies lifeguard teams on trips to the beach, surfing adventures, kayaking and even goes whitewater rafting. He is a true Waterman.
Lifeguard Dogs (Rescue Dogs)
Coast Guards and lifeguard agencies alike are using hundreds of specially trained rescue dogs as part of their team. The most popular breeds are Newfoundlands, Golden Retrievers and Labradors. These breeds are being trained to act as lifeguards and are patrolling beaches, lakes and rivers around the world to help save people from drowning. These breeds are chosen because they are innately strong in the water. Rescue dogs are used frequently in Italy, Scandinavian countries and Europe, but there are less than 50 throughout the United States. These dogs are not meant to replace human lifeguards, but to complement them. Rescue dogs are trained work beside their human lifeguard as they both patrol the water.
Why Dogs?
Agencies are using lifeguard dogs because they increase the speed at which victims are retrieved. These magnificently trained dogs can easily jump from helicopters and speeding boats to reach swimmers in trouble, in instances where humans aren’t able. The lifeguard dogs remain solid, steady, and capable, no matter what their job might throw at them.Their work is becoming invaluableto the Coast Guards and lifeguard agencies everywhere.
The Rescue
Lifeguard dogs are always outfitted with a harness and a Marine Rescue Patrol Can or a Rescue Tube. When the lifeguard dog sees someone in trouble, they rush into the water towing the rescue tube or rescue can with them. Once they reach the victim, the victim grabs hold of the rescue gear, and the dog paddles back to safety, with the distressed swimmer in tow. In quieter waters the lifeguard dogs are being trained to tow a life raft to the distressed swimmer. The victim will sit or lay on the raft and get towed back to shore. These dogs are strong enough to pull three people linked together back to shore. If the dog approaches a face down victim or the swimmer is unconscious, the dog has been trained to grab the person’s upper arm in their mouth and roll the victim onto his back thus keeping his face out of the water. The lifeguard dog will then drag the victim to safety with its teeth, tugging him ashore by his arm, shirt or bathing suit.
Believe it or Not
These lifeguard dogs are also used for search and rescue. Their powerful sense of smell helps locate the bodies of drowned victims. Mud bottoms, or dark cloudy waters leave dive teams with limited underwater visibility, and they need help narrowing down the location of the drowned victim. Lifeguard rescue dogs are bought in to ride with lifeguards and search teams. The dog rides around the drowning site in a small boat sniffing the water’s surface for oil and skin particles that have risen to the surface of the water. The dog indicates by scratching the bottom of the boat, barking or some other signal that he has found the victim. A dive team is then sent in to retrieve the body. The search and rescue teams may search for hours with no luck, but with the help of the lifeguard dog it may only take minutes.
Rescue Dog Traits
To qualify to be a dog lifeguard, the dog must weigh at least 30 kilograms (66 pounds), and have a natural love of swimming. Retrievers are ideal because they enjoy fetching anything from the water, and bringing it back to the shore. Plus, they have calm and easygoing personalities and do not panic easily.
Training
Training for these canine lifeguards begins as a puppy, and continues until they are at least two to three years old. Each dog works in tandem with a human lifeguard who also acts as the animal’s trainer. During training the lifeguard dogs are taught to recognize the signs of a drowning person, how to approach and maneuver a drowning or distressed victim. They also learn to choose the best landing points (when jumping from a helicopter or boat), and how to decipher the safest currents or routes.
Rescue dogs are extraordinary animals, that do amazing feats, saving thousands of lives each year. We are proud to supply the Coast Guard, and lifeguard rescue dogs around the world with the lifeguard equipment needed to carry out these rescues.
Millions of visitors and locals hit the beaches, lakes, rivers and pools each year. But sometimes we need a little help, and there are lifeguards in place to do just that. No matter what kind of lifeguard you are, your one number task is not rescuing people, instead your main duty is to prevent and protect the public from getting into a dangerous situation in the first place. As a lifeguard, you are constantly looking for potential danger, and your job is to warn people before that danger becomes an issue.
Who doesn’t love dogs. At Original Watermen, we salute all rescue dogs, but one in particular, Moby. Moby is our mascot, and he is a big beautiful platinum Golden Retriever. Moby accompanies lifeguard teams on trips to the beach, surfing adventures, kayaking and even goes whitewater rafting. He is a true Waterman.