Watching out

Mary A. Castillo

He is: dedicated to keeping the city beach safe.

UP THE LADDER

From his first day on the job, Marine Safety Officer Matt Norton knew

he was exactly where he wanted to be.

“Look at my office,” he said with a sweep of his arm.

But rolling surf and miles of rippling sand isn’t all that keeps him

excited about working with the marine safety department in Huntington

Beach.

“We can make a big impact on peoples’ lives,” he said.

For 16 summers, Norton, 32 has worked his way up the ranks starting as

a captain with the Huntington Beach Junior Lifeguard.

“I worked in the towers for two years then became a senior lifeguard

for another two,” he said. “It’s hard to get a permanent position because

people don’t want to leave.”

As a marine safety officer, Norton patrols the 3 1/2-mile city beach,

including Huntington’s dog beach. Like all city marine safety personnel,

he is a certified emergency medical technician and is trained for beach

and diving rescues as well as swift water rescues in the river and flood

channels that run through the city.

“We cross train with the fire department and the police as well as

with other marine safety operations in Southern California,” he said.

“I’m lucky because I work with one of the top marine safety operations in

the world and with some very innovative men and women.”

ABOVE AND BEYOND

He remembers one unusual situation that required some quick thinking.

One of the restrooms on the pier had an unusually clogged toilet.

“Someone poured cement into one of the toilets and the pipes run

underneath the pier,” he said.

Norton and his fellow officers figured out how to repel someone

underneath the pier to replace the piece of pipe where the cement had

settled.

“All of sudden we became plumbers,” he joked.

No matter what the situation -- whether it’s pulling a submerged car

out of the water or rescuing a dog caught in a riptide -- the Marine

Safety officers and lifeguards must be prepared to respond quickly.

“It’s a real adrenaline rush to pull up on a rescue that can be

critical but that works out exactly how we’re trained to do it,” he said.

“It’s a very rewarding feeling.”

EVER WATCHFUL

But for the most part when Norton patrols the sands and bike paths, he

focuses on preventive tactics. Regular training and plain-old experience

has taught him how to identify possible trouble. It’s not unusual for a

lifeguard to swim out and advise surfers or swimmers that they need avoid

a rip current, he said.

An avid surfer and swimmer, Norton points out someone swimming close

to the pier. After watching him for a moment, he realized it was a rookie

lifeguard.

“Not a lot of people surf around the pier except nut cases like us,”

he said with a grin.

As the water warms up, Norton and his fellow officers will have plenty

to keep them busy. For instance, one day last year 4,000 out-of-state

students poured onto the beach.

“Every single one of those kids went home without any problems on our

beach,” he said. “Our training keeps us ahead of the curve.”