FT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – After numerous delays, a civil trial is underway in Ft. Lauderdale pitting a beach visitor against the city.  Jury selection got underway Monday for a trial in which a North Carolina school teacher, who was run over by a Ft. Lauderdale Ocean Rescue lifeguard, is seeking damages from the city. During a trip to the beach in April 2012, Rinda Mizelle, 49, was lying in the sand next to a lifeguard tower when a member of the beach patrol on an SUV ran over her. Police said that Sherry Samuel, the driver of the ocean rescue vehicle had just finished speaking to a lifeguard at the rescue stand when she got on her vehicle, made a right turn, and drove directly over Mizelle. She was pulled from underneath the passenger side of the vehicle and taken to Broward Health Medical Center for non-life threatening injuries. Police reported that she suffered lacerations on her arms and legs, but was treated and released a short time after. An attorney for Mizelle said she suffered orthopedic and neurological injuries, as well as significant burns on her arms.  Read more...

Source: https://miami.cbslocal.com

BELMAR, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — New life-saving technology could be coming to a beach near you.  Lifeguards on the Jersey Shore are testing the waters on the use of rescue drones, CBS2’s Meg Baker reported Thursday.

High above Belmar’s beach soars a new tool. The high-tech device is an additional option during an emergency, providing flotation and communication.  “That could potentially buy lifeguards additional time, but it in no way removes the lifeguard from life-saving equation,” lifeguard Eric Kerecman said.  Belmar partnered with Rutgers University to test and tweak how the drone-assisted rescue operation would work.  “We found the drone can get out to a person about one minute faster than, say, if a lifeguard is having to battle a heavy surf,” said Hugh Roarty, the project manager at Rutgers’ Center for Ocean Observing Leadership.  READ MORE…

Source: https://newyork.cbslocal.com

As part of the Lifeguard team and now ever present on the beach in the port of Sagunto, Spain, the Auxdron Lifeguard Drone was ready and waiting as one of the Lifeguards sounded the alarm that there were people caught in an undertow and looked like they needed help. This event happened on Wednesday the 15th of August on a beach known to have strong undertows under certain conditions. The Lifeguard team are well aware of the danger and are trained for these specific situations. One of the most important parts of such a rescue is the response time to the victims. Adrian Plazas and Enrique Fernandez were two Lifeguards who knew this more than most. Together they started a company to design and build a Drone that was capable of saving lives. Three years later their vision was realised when the drone, they developed, saved the life of a woman caught in an undertow that could have cost her life.  READ MORE…

Source: https://www.suasnews.com

A Sandbar Beach lifeguard was recognized Tuesday night for rescuing a 20-month-old boy at the beach in July in South Glens Falls. Post-Star file photo

SOUTH GLENS FALLS — A toddler nearly drowned at Sandbar Beach last month, but was rescued just in time by a lifeguard. The incident happened July 21, just after 3 p.m. A boy, 20 months old, was playing in the water with his mother.Lifeguard Sabrina Quintois, 19, had suggested that the boy wear a life jacket or puddle jumper. But his mother said he could swim — an unlikely feat at his age. Sure enough, as Quintois scanned the water for any signs of distress, she saw him slip under and not come back up. She blew her whistle and dove in. On the other side of the beach, another lifeguard saw the same thing and also ran for the water. Before he could get there, Quintois had reached the boy and lifted him out of the water. His mother was standing nearby but hadn’t realized the danger. “The child was not coughing or breathing,” said Supervisor Todd Kusnierz, reading from the report Quintois wrote. She administered three back blows in an attempt to restore breathing, since his heart was still beating.   READ MORE….

Source: Lifeguard saves 20-month-old at Sandbar Beach in South Glens Falls | Local | poststar.com

Robert Ginoti (left) and P.J. Brewer, LA county lifeguards  Photo by Chase Kelly

Two young off-duty Malibu area lifeguards are being hailed as heroes for helping to save a man’s life last week. Tim Harvey with Mugu Lifeguards—and who runs the Leo Carrillo Junior Life Guards program—told The Malibu Times a 76-year-old cyclist who suffered an apparent heart attack while biking along Pacific Coast Highway was fortunate to have the two young men and two other bystanders spot him in distress. P.J. Brewer and Robert Ginoti were off duty, but driving together July 25 to their lifeguard jobs with the California State Parks Department at Leo Carrillo Beach. The two young guards saw the cyclist fall over and quickly got to work performing CPR along with a bystander, Kim Rosenberg. Before the fire department EMTs arrived, the three were able to get the senior’s pulse back. Twenty-two-year-old P.J. Brewer, who started as a junior lifeguard and worked his way onto the force, said they just happened to come across the scene moments before arriving at the state beach.   READ MORE….

Source: Lifeguards Lauded for Lifesaving Effort at Leo Carrillo | News | malibutimes.com

BY MICHAELA BROYLES mbroyles@thesunnews.com

March 20, 2018 12:06 PMUpdated March 20, 2018 04:00 PMIn about a month, the Myrtle Beach Fire Department will have four “robotic lifeguards” to use this summer, which will help prevent people from drowning in the ocean.”Primarily it’s for us to get something out to a potential drowning victim that can help them stay afloat until we can get out there with a swimmer or jet ski,” said Lt. Jonathan Evans with MBFD.The robot is called EMILY, which stands for Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard. They are remote-controlled devices designed to race through heavy surf to get to swimmers in distress very quickly.  Read more…

Source: Watch how these robotic lifeguards will help save lives in Myrtle Beach this summer | Myrtle Beach Sun News

By Phil Diehl

Del Mar city officials announced Friday, Jan. 26, that 25-year employee Jon Edelbrock has been promoted to the position of community services director and chief lifeguard, a job formerly held by Pat Vergne, whose firing in August continues to roil the small community.Edelbrock, who will lead 87 employees in the department’s lifeguard, parking and facilities divisions, said he plans to set aside the controversy and focus on the job.“We’ve been working through this and dealing with it for the past eight months,” Edelbrock said. “The best thing I can do is make sure my staff has what they need to do their job.”Edelbrock, 44, was hired as a seasonal lifeguard for the city in 1992 and rose through the ranks, becoming a lifeguard lieutenant in 2010.“I love my job,” he said. “I wouldn’t trade it for any other job in the world.”Vergne, a 35-year employee of the city, was fired in August after a months-long investigation allegedly uncovered nearly $200,000 in misused funds, falsified payroll records and the improper personal use of a city credit card. Two other employees in his department also were dismissed.The investigation and subsequent dismissal of Vergne triggered a community uproar.He is strongly supported by many longtime residents who say Vergne only followed policies established over the years and that he did nothing wrong. He’s filed a claim against the city for wrongful termination seeking millions of dollars in damages.Meanwhile, a Sheriff’s Department official has confirmed an investigation of criminal allegations against Vergne, though no charges have been filed.  Read more…

Source: Del Mar announces new chief lifeguard to replace ousted administrator – Del Mar Times