Open House to Help Promote Beach Safety

With the arrival of Memorial Day weekend, lifeguards like Michael S. Bartlett seek to remind people about the hazards in the surf.

“People don’t realize the dangers,” said Bartlett, a Huntington Beach marine safety officer. The ocean, he added, “could be calm one day and 8-foot surf the next.”

To promote public awareness about preventing drownings and beach-related injuries, the Huntington Beach Marine Safety Division is hosting an open house and beach safety forum this weekend.

The event will celebrate National Beach Safety Week, which ends on Memorial Day.

The open house will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday at lifeguard headquarters, 103 Pacific Coast Highway at 1st Street.

The forum will include displays of life-saving equipment, such as water rescue and scuba gear, and educational information.

About 8 million people--6 million in the summer alone--visit the city’s 3 1/2 miles of beach each year.

City lifeguards make between 2,000 and 3,000 ocean rescues a year.

Bartlett also is president of the Huntington Beach Surf Lifesaving Assn., a nonprofit group that promotes professional lifeguard standards and beach safety awareness.

He offered some tips to help ensure a fun and safe beach trip:

* To prevent injuries, don’t dive into the ocean head first. Check the ocean bottom to make sure you’re not diving into rocks or shallow water. Neck injuries, often caused by landing head-first on the ocean bottom, are common.

* Check with a lifeguard before entering water to learn the current swimming conditions and hazards.

* Never swim alone and always swim near a lifeguard tower.

* Never drink alcohol before swimming.

* If caught in a rip current, don’t panic; swim parallel to the shore to calm water, then swim to shore.

Information: (714) 536-5281.