Lifeguards pool resources at event

Conference allows lifeguards from across the country to learn about new life-saving tools.Lifeguards from Hawaii to the Great Lakes convened in Dana Point on Friday for the United States Lifesaving Assn. educational conference.

Newport Beach lifeguards helped host and organize the event, which featured speeches about technology and safety. The conference, held twice a year, is a chance for lifeguard agencies across the country to share resources, said Newport Lifeguard Rob Williams.

Sean Collins, founder of Surfline.com, a Huntington Beach-based company that provides surf forecasts, presented the advantages of his product for lifeguards.

Surfline.com’s offshore buoys can predict swells up to 12,000 miles away, Collins said.

Newport Beach lifeguards have used the service for years, said Lifeguard Capt. Eric Bauer. When they know a large swell is on the way, lifeguards can prepare and increase staffing accordingly.

Collins has not only enhanced the sport of surfing, he’s enhanced public safety. Before Surfline.com, lifeguards relied on “crude” satellite images to predict incoming swells, Bauer said.

“Now when Sean Collins says a swell’s coming, it’s coming,” Bauer said.

Surfline.com provides the service free to Newport Lifeguards.

Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian’s Kris Okamoto, director of Project Wipeout, also spoke about working with lifeguards to educate the public on the risk of spinal cord injuries at the beach.

Okamoto works as a nurse at Hoag and is a neuroscience specialist.

The Newport lifeguards usually send 50 people to Hoag Hospital with spinal cord injuries every summer season, Williams said.

“It’s a huge accident that happens in our area,” he said.

The educational portion of the conference concluded Friday with a presentation by two San Diego lifeguards who went to New Orleans as part of a state Urban Search and Rescue team.

San Diego Lifeguard John Greenhalgh told lifeguards what they need to do if they want to start a USAR team at their agency.

“It’s the smart thing ... aquatic professionals making aquatic rescues,” Greenhalgh said.