Lifeguards adopt Fire Department rankings

Titles don’t change responsibilities but are meant to lend air of authority to the division of Newport Fire Department.Since the Newport Beach Lifeguards merged with the city Fire Department 10 years ago, it’s been a gradual process to fully integrate the two agencies.

In December, the lifeguards signed a contract with the city and adopted a ranking system similar to that of the Fire Department.

“It’s really just an attempt to get all the agencies on one page,” said Newport Beach Lifeguard Brent Jacobsen.

The title of seasonal lifeguards will stay the same; lifeguard captains will be known as battalion chiefs and lifeguard lieutenants as lifeguard captains.

The new rankings are not promotions and won’t change the lifeguards’ roles and responsibilities, Jacobsen said. Taking on the Fire Department rankings does help establish the lifeguards as a respected public safety agency, said Jacobsen, who also serves as the president for the Newport Beach Lifeguard Management Association.

It’s not that lifeguards aren’t respected as a public safety agency, but rather that police and fire departments have a more established reputation, said B. Chris Brewster, president of the U.S. Lifesaving Assn.

“My sense is that, in Southern California at least, lifeguarding is respected as a public safety service.... It transcends titles and classifications per say,” Brewster said.

Under the umbrella of a police or fire department, some lifeguard agencies have experienced a more immediate recognition as an public safety agency, Brewster said.

Throughout the state, lifeguards agencies vary in their affiliation. Some lifeguards are part of a city’s recreation department, others are completely separate agencies and some are part of fire departments, such as the Newport Beach lifeguards.

In the early 1900s when lifeguard agencies were emerging across the country, many started as part of a parks department because lifeguards were seen in a recreational capacity, Brewster said.

Since the Newport Beach lifeguards became part of the fire department in 1995, the lifeguards’ role has slowly changed, Jacobsen said.

“We do a lot more stuff in line with the fire department,” Jacobsen said.

The lifeguards now participate in the Community Emergency Response Team program and plan the city’s Emergency Operations Center drill.