A beach lifeguard’s responsibilities usually extend far beyond watching swimmers from atop a tower. Many lifeguards are expected to patrol beaches on foot, while others are in charge of driving to and maintaining the safety of long stretches of coastline beaches. A beach lifeguard’s other responsibilities include teaching safety classes and earning and renewing first aid/rescue certifications.
The activities and tests that beach lifeguards must complete in order to maintain their professional qualifications vary depending on the standards in each region and country. A beach lifeguard’s knowledge of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or open water skills may be tested. Swimmers who are not near the shore, such as those who jump into the ocean from a yacht or cruise ship, are supervised by open water lifeguards. Lifeguards of all types must be prepared to perform CPR on drowning or heart attack victims. Because the rescuer blows air into the victim’s mouth while also applying pressure to the chest to try to restore proper heart and lung function, CPR is also known as mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
CPR and other safety techniques may be taught to the public by some beach lifeguards. A beach lifeguard may also offer safe boating classes. Lifeguard teams are frequently in charge of keeping several beaches in a regional area safe for the public. To patrol coastlines, they may use inflatable boats or four-wheel-drive vehicles. A member of a beach lifeguard team may use cellular phones or other wireless communication devices to communicate with other team members.
On smaller beaches, the lifeguard may be assigned cleaning duties. When the beach is open to the public, all lifeguards must keep an eye on the swimmers and be ready to provide emergency rescue or first aid if necessary. A beach lifeguard looks for signs of weakness, distress, or panic in swimmers so that they can reach them quickly and prevent drowning. Lifeguards may use poles or ropes to assist swimmers who are unable to reach the shore.
The majority of beach lifeguards patrol the beaches on foot while also keeping an eye on swimmers from a lifeguard tower chair. If anyone on the property engages in unsafe or illegal activities, they must enforce beach rules. A beach lifeguard usually posts signs stating the rules of the beach. Beach lifeguards can either be paid or unpaid volunteers. They might work on the shores of a river, the ocean, or a lake. Many beach lifeguards have the responsibility of keeping a log book of rescues and other significant events.