Lifeguards: Temps put lives at risk

The president of the Laguna Beach Lifeguard Assn. has said that lack of training for seasonal lifeguards is threatening lives on Laguna beaches.

The city has five full-time lifeguards and employs some 70 more on a temporary basis during the summer beach season.

Some of those temporary guards are expected to fill the role of permanent, full-time lifeguards, but lack the necessary training, said Ormand Tegland, president of the Laguna Beach Lifeguard Assn.”It’s the same as leading the police department with reservists. There are no permanent lifeguards on duty some days,” he added.

Former Laguna Beach Lifeguard Assn. President Scott Diederich agrees.

“We put expectations on these people that are unreasonable,” Diederich said. “Seasonal guards don’t get the training that full-time guards get.”

Diederich, who is a Marine Safety lieutenant, claims that some incidents ? including drownings and other serious occurrences ? could have been better handled by guards with more training. Some of the part-time guards, who are paid on an hourly basis, are pressed into service as supervisors, compounding the problem, he said.

The drowning of three people on Mothers Day, 1998, could have been handled differently, Diederich claims.

The tragedy occurred in a rocky, unguarded area known as the “Giggle Crack.” Three members of a family were swept off the rocks into the water and could not be saved.

“The guards responding to the incident hadn’t been trained in the area since they were rookies,” Diederich said. “We need the best training possible to respond to those situations.”

Other incidents point to lack of experience and training, he said.

In January 1993, two “seasonal” guards driving a truck were swept out into the ocean after forging water near a creek outflow at Main Beach.

“The decision to forge is something no full-timer would do,” Diederich said. “We’re taught in swift water training never to drive a vehicle in two or three feet deep water.”

Other incidents Diederich claims show inadequate training involve alleged complaints of sexual harassment and fighting among part-time supervisors and rookies.

Diederich is not alone among guards who see a problem in the “seasonal” guard system.

Kai Bond, who this year took a permanent post after years as a seasonal lifeguard, said a “Mother’s Day massacre” could happen again.

“I’m surprised the ‘Mother’s Day massacre’ hasn’t happened again. We should feel lucky it hasn’t happened again,” Bond said.

Bond believes advanced training gives an edge in rescue capability, and feels there is an increasing need for it.

“Day to day we need to be response able,” Bond said. “We have to be ready for everything from basic rescue to cliff and ocean rescue.”

With 10 years as a seasonal lifeguard, Tegland serves as a supervisor, and feels lack of advanced training in certain areas could leave him vulnerable in situations.

Tegland said that advanced training in scuba, cliff rescue, swift-water exercises and emergency vehicle driving would add significantly to his ability to respond to emergencies.

In a Jan. 17 memorandum to City Manager Ken Frank, Marine Safety Chief Mark Klosterman cites problems in staffing practices for “on-call” responsibilities.

On-call duties are given to off-duty lifeguards who are expected to respond to emergencies.

“There is simply not enough available, committed, willing and able senior part-time staff to meet on-call and year-round deployment demands,” the memorandum stated.

The addition of four or five full-time lifeguards would solve the problem, Marine Safety Officer Tom Trager said.

“We want to have four or five seasonal guards to get full-time status,” Trager said.

That would cost the city an extra $35,000 per guard if they were hired today, Diederich said.

Diederich knows that it comes down to what the city can afford, but he believes funds are available.

“I’ve looked at the budget. The money is there but the priority isn’t,” Diederich said.

Frank said the lifeguards’ overall budget has increased 92% over the last six years, mostly due to equipment upgrades.

“If money were no object we’d have more people. There’s a limit to what we can do,” Frank said.

Frank is confident in the lifeguards’ abilities and sees no reason to add full-time guards at this time.

“The system has worked extremely well over years. There’s no evidence of a safety hazard,” Frank said. “Even the best trained people can make mistakes.”

One full-time guard position was added this year, and another is being proposed for next year, Frank said. cpt.05-lifegaurds-dl-BPhotoInfoIQ1QL3C620060505iyrmc0ncDON LEACH / COASTLINE PILOT(LA)Laguna Beach lifeguards keep an eye on Main Beach.