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Abstract
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Lifeguards, perhaps more than any other public safety providers must maintain the utmost level of attention and the keenest possible observation skills. A lifeguard may watch over the water for many days without a significant event, which is a recipe for boredom, but a mere moment of inattention when a swimmer encounters distress may mean the difference between life and death.
The United States Lifesaving Association reports that 80% of rescues at US surf beaches are caused by rip currents, a phenomenon absent at stillwater beaches. So in one environment the primary focus is poor or non-swimmers suddenly over their heads, while at the other it is the swimmer, perhaps even a strong swimmer caught in a rip. Victim identification techniques in these two cases differ accordingly.
The article referenced observations of Frank Pia regarding "active drowning" and identification of victims in this state. According to the article, "Pia discovered that victims usually struggle for some 2060 seconds on the surface of the water before slipping quietly under the surface". While this may be true at still-water (inland) beaches, it is rarely the case at surf beaches. In fact, there are significant differences in victim identification techniques required at the two venues.
A rip current pulls the victim offshore. It is like finding oneself on an invisible aquatic treadmill and having the treadmill move faster than one can swim. A major difference between rip current victims and still-water victims is that rip current victims can often stay afloat for quite a while, due to their swimming skills. This is fortuitous because surf rescue victims are often scores of metres offshore, requiring some time for the lifeguard to reach them.
Surf lifeguards are typically taught to identify the areas at their beaches where rip currents are most likely to present themselves and to key in on those areas for observation, though not to the exclusion of other water areas. Since the intensity of rip currents often varies continually due to a variety of factors, swimmers may at times swim in and out of a rip current area without event, then suddenly and unexpectedly be swept offshore.
The United States Lifesaving Association Manual of Open Water Lifesaving suggests some clues to signs of distress in swimmers, such as facing shore, low head, low stroke, lack of kick, waves breaking over the head, hair in the eyes, glassy eyes, two or more heads together, hand waving, fighting or being swept along by a current, erratic activity, and clinging to fixed objects. Most of these are different presentations than a lifeguard would expect to see in a distressed victim in still-water, who is too busy struggling to stay afloat to exhibit such behaviours. The typical surf rescue victim, who is able to fight a current for a period of time, would have no problem reaching shore at a still-water beach.
There have been a number of theories presented on lifeguard scanning procedures, some of which have evolved over many years and have passed the test of time. Nevertheless, there is a surprising paucity of objective study of the best methods of lifeguard surveillance and further attention to this issue seems much needed.
Language: en |