As the South Walton Fire District Beach Safety program begins its third year providing lifeguards at regional beach accesses, a pilot program could give lifeguards a lift.
At the March 3 fire board meeting, SWFD chief Rick Talbert said a review of last year?s lifeguard program indicated efficiency could be improved in areas outside the scope of the guarded beaches by mobilizing the lifeguards.
Of the 26 miles of South Walton beaches, about one mile has lifeguards.
With ATVs, lifeguards would have quicker access to problematic areas, Talbert said Monday.
?This is the best we can do under the current budget we have,? Beach Safety Director Gary Wise said. ?This is not an ideal situation. I?d like to have more towers, but with the ATVs we can get to the scene quicker.
?We are elevating our services one step at a time,? he said.
The first two years of the program, when rescues were attempted beyond guarded beaches, lifeguards often had to run a mile down the beach, and in some cases, drive down roads to get to the scene, Talbert said.
?We will strategically locate mobile guards to provide access to areas that are not part of the public regional beach accesses, but were the sites of previous drownings,? he said.
The use of ATVs will improve response time, effectiveness and increase interaction with beachgoers, Talbert said.
The Beach Safety Program is funded through tourist occupancy, or bed taxes, collected by the Beaches of South Walton Tourist Development Council.
Tracy Louthain, the public relations and visitor services director for the TDC, said the decision by Council members to place lifeguard towers at regional beach accesses was done to be fair and equitable. Those accesses have parking, bathroom facilities and are open to the public, she said.
Other areas that might benefit from lifeguards, including private resorts, have been discussed, but funding for additional towers is the issue.
Staffing one tower costs about $80,000 for the season.
Fire board chairman Maurice Gilbert said the fire district was going beyond the scope of services required by the TDC with the addition of the roving patrols that can cover more beach area.
Commissioner Jack Abbit asked whether lifeguards should provide services at private beaches.
?Do we have an obligation to perform a water rescue in front of a private beach?? he said.
?We absolutely do,? Talbert said. ?We are aware of and sensitive to these issues, but we are responsible for the beaches.?
Final preparation for the season began on March 3 as lifeguards attended the ?Lifeguard Academy.? Following a morning orientation, the lifeguards headed to Ed Walline regional beach access for a 1.2 mile beach run and 1,000 meter swim. The rest of the week, lifeguards continued training with the equipment, running daily drills and preparing for opening day.
There were 26 applicants for the lifeguard program this year, with 14 returning lifeguards.
?They are all physically and mentally prepared,? Wise said.
Some of the lifeguards that are new to the South Walton program have previous experience working in Panama City Beach and Okaloosa County.
?That speaks well of our program,? Wise said.
As Wise looks to the beginning of a new season, he believes South Walton is well position to do a good job.
?We have a good ratio of lifeguards to people on the beach,? he said.
The lifeguard season begins March 8 with guards present from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Two additional beach accesses will have lifeguards this year. Guards will be at the Van Ness Butler Jr. regional access this weekend and at the Blue Mountain Beach regional access at the end of County Road 83 when parking and bathroom renovations are completed later in the season.
