North Collier Fire Control & Rescue District is launching its long-planned lifeguard program on the beach July 1, just in time for the busy Fourth of July holiday.
It’s a special operations program that has been in the works for more than a year and marks the first time that lifeguards will be on Collier County beaches.
The plan is to start with two lifeguards who will be stationed along Vanderbilt Beach in the vicinity of the Ritz-Carlton, Naples. They will be on duty seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“We have made the commitment to have this level of service,” Tony Camps, assistant chief of special operations with North Collier Fire, said. “It was just the right thing to do.”
What’s the background
This past February North Collier Fire signed an agreement with county leaders to launch the program where certified lifeguards also will offer emergency medical response care.
The agreement includes lifeguards with the North Collier Fire Ocean Rescue at the pools at Big Corkscrew Regional Park and at North Collier Regional Park’s Sun-N-Fun Lagoon.
Drowning is the number one cause of death among children aged 1 to 4 in Collier, and the second leading cause of death among children aged 5 to 14, according to Water Smart Collier and the state Department of Health.
Florida has had 58 drownings so far this year and one drowning has occurred in Collier, Camps said.
North Collier Fire’s 911 emergency response program functions on land and the agency’s maritime response is on the water, so the beach lifeguard program essentially is the next level of service and connects the two programs, he said.
Where else are there beach lifeguards?
Beach lifeguard programs are not common along Florida’s west coast.
Sarasota County has lifeguards at some beaches but south of Sarasota that is not the case.
Thirty coastal counties in Florida offer some measure of beach monitoring but that does not necessarily mean lifeguards, which is a function of local governments, according to the state Department of Health.
The state DOH monitors beach water quality but does not license or certify lifeguard programs.
Dayron Martinez didn’t hesitate to become a lifeguard last July with North Collier Fire.
“I wanted to be one of the pioneers with the program to serve our community,” Martinez, 22, said. “I grew up here.”
He and a handful of the agency’s lifeguards performed rescue drills June 24 on the beach to get ready for the July 1 launch.
To date 93 firefighters with North Collier Fire are certified lifeguards but that number will increase, according to agency spokeswoman Heather Mazurkiewicz.
What beachgoers are saying
Beachgoers were pleased to learn of the program’s launch.
Zhenya Slack, who has lived in Naples for 25 years, said it’s a good thing.
“I myself cannot swim,” she said.
Susan Smith, a five-year resident, said the lifeguards are especially needed during the busy winter months when the beach is packed.
The agreement with the county that was forged in February was a big step, Fire Chief Eloy Ricardo said at the time.
“In a coastal community like ours, water safety must be embedded in our emergency response framework,” he said.
“By adding lifeguard services to the fire-rescue model, we are accelerating response capabilities, elevating prevention efforts, and building a system that is proactive, coordinated, and designed to save lives,” he said.
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Liz Freeman is a health care reporter. Reach her by emailing lfreeman@naplesnews.com
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This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: New lifeguards arrive at Vanderbilt Beach July 1
Reporting by Liz Freeman, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
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By Liz Freeman, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
