Lightning

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The lone lifeguard stood on Stewart Beach. The air was thick as a dark, green frontal system moved in from the north.  In the distance lifeguard trucks drove up and down the beach using their loudspeakers to let people know lightning was moving into the area. Bolts of lightning struck nearby.  The lifeguard whistled at the few remaining people in the area and yelled for them to get out of the water. Suddenly, time stood still and the air crackled with electricity. He realized he was lying on his back. A filling in his mouth hurt, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end, and he felt as if insects were running across his temples.

With fall quickly approaching we’ll soon start to see regular frontal systems that bring lightning into the area more frequently. This incident, which happened years ago, is a real reminder that lifeguards and other public safety professionals are not immune to the very dangers they work to protect people from. It is also not very likely to happen again because as our understanding of the lightning processes has improved, we’ve restructured our protocols to minimize danger to our staff by pulling tower guards immediately while we notify the public from our vehicles, and new technology is currently being used to reduce risk to both our staff and to the beach going public.

Lightning most frequently occurs within 10 miles of a thunderstorm, so it is generally recommended that people take shelter when lightning comes within this distance. One way to tell how close lightning is involves counting the seconds between the flash of lightning and the corresponding thunder roar. This is known as the “flash to bang rule”. Every five seconds is a mile, so if the time between the flash and the bang is less than 50 seconds, you want to clear out. There are also apps, websites, and devices that let you know how close lightning is to you. At Beach Patrol, we pay an annual fee for a program that not only alerts us when lightning moves within a certain distance, but can predict when this may happen.

It’s not enough to seek shelter in a building. It has to be fully enclosed, grounded, and have electrical and plumbing. Boats aren’t really safe at all, but if you have to ride it out in one, it should be in a cabin without touching electronics or the walls. Cars are pretty safe, but not as good as proper buildings, and again, don’t touch metal frameworks.

If you are caught in a lightning storm on the beach and can’t get to an enclosed building or car, don’t just run to a partially enclosed picnic table or similar structure. Instead, stay away from the tallest objects (lifeguard stands, light poles, flag poles), metal objects (fences or bleachers), standing pools of water, and open areas.

You can monitor thunderstorms and severe weather forecasts online at www.spc.noaa.gov . For more information about lightning safety, a good site is www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov .

Tech and Harvey

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As Beach Patrol Supervisor Austin Kirwin navigated his jet ski to the side of the highway to drop off another group of rescued people, his partner helped them dismount the rescue sled attached to the ski and walked them to shore. Meanwhile, Austin pulled out his phone in its waterproof case and squinted through the rain and wind as he checked his messages. He had several new addresses that had been sent to him by someone who was combing social media platforms looking for people stranded in the Dickinson area. He chose one and directed the other three Beach Patrol rescue crews to other addresses.

It’s amazing what a role technology played during Harvey in comparison to just a few years earlier with Katrina, Rita, Sandy, and Ike. In Austin’s case, while power was down in many of the areas where people were stranded, they still had cell service and a charge on their phone. While waiting for rescue on roofs, in attics, or in the second stories of houses, many people were actively communicating via social media, text, and by making calls. While our emergency management structures were getting a handle on the immense scope of the problem, some of our more tech savvy responders were getting information through other methods. Later, when we were getting addresses directly though emergency management the process was much more efficient. But during the early stages, new technology was pretty useful.

There’s a web based program that emergency management centers use to coordinate aid and requests for aid now. If you are leading a city, county, or emergency response group you can request what you need via this program. It will be assessed and compared to other groups offering all kinds of aid. There was also an app created during Harvey to coordinate first responders in Houston. And there are several apps you can go to for requesting everything from donations of clothing or household items to volunteers who are willing to come help you rip the sheetrock out of your walls.

My crew used cell phones more than their radios to keep track of each other by sending maps with pins in them to indicate an address they need to evacuate people from to showing each other what their location is.  I was pretty impressed with my team. Most are young and tech savvy and did an amazing job of combining their grasp of newer technology with a strong base of rescue skills. But even as this played out a little voice in my head was saying not to become dependent on this. One thing those who have gone through a few disasters learns is that each crisis is very different and you can’t count on anything. Just because cell phones worked during Harvey doesn’t mean that we can count on that for the next one.

Modern responders are using new tools and technology to the best advantage, but should remain flexible and build redundant systems into any preparation or response.

Galveston Marine Response Group Assists with Harvey Rescues

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Michelle Gomez slid off of the rescue sled and into the water. She half swam, half waded to the door of the house. Calling out to let anyone who might be in there, she entered the dark cavern of the downstairs. She thought about how glad she was that she was wearing her full wetsuit as she brushed a couple of spiders off of her arm. Carefully making her way past a floating couch cushion and the debris floating everywhere, she climbed a staircase to find a family with their dog huddled upstairs. She led them out to the waiting Beach Patrol jet ski and the Galveston Police Department’s boat.

Almost a decade ago, Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas asked us to come up with a plan to better respond to major disasters. The result was the Galveston Marine Response group, which was activated during Harvey. Rescue teams made up of lifeguards, police, and firefighters were staged at fire stations, having a combined skill set to respond to any type of emergency and act independently if communication was cut off. Separate Beach Patrol jet ski rescue crews were staged, lifeguards were assigned to augment firefighter crews that couldn’t make it into work, help was summoned from the state, and teams were sent out all over the county during times the demand wasn’t so great on the island. Beach Patrol alone sent 4 teams all over the county and made over 127 rescues and even saved over 20 pets. All told, teams from the Galveston Police, Fire, and Beach Patrol along with Jamaica Beach Fire Rescue and the Sheriff Office responded to hundreds of requests and made over 300 high water rescues like the one Michelle and her team performed. And that doesn’t include all the welfare checks made by boat, vehicle, or on foot. But they didn’t do it alone.

Since 9/11 the United States has seen a real change in how we respond to big events. Most of the responders in the agencies mentioned have had some level of training from the National Incident Management System (NIMS). They know how to fall into the command structure that is housed under our city, county, state, and national Emergency Management System. City, State, and County Emergency Operation Centers (EOC) work with the National Weather Service and coordinate aid in a way that is more efficient and strategic than ever before. Of course, something as all encompassing as Harvey starts as complete bedlam, but after a while the structure starts to bring order to chaos.

Because so many selfless people jumped in their boats and vehicles and helped each other, countless lives were saved. The human capacity to reach out to others during times of true crisis, when all but the essential human qualities are stripped away, is utterly breathtaking. We are capable of such magnificence. But the structure that brought order to the initial chaos got the evacuees sheltered, fed, clothed, and will eventually get them back to a point where they can once again be self sufficient.

 

Big Rescue

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Time slowed as I jumped off the wall and ran to the water. I noticed two groups of people in the water and a woman running out. A group of four was ¾ of the way out to the end of the 33rd street groin and right in the middle of the “no swimming” area. Another group of three was near the end of the groin. There was no sign of a struggle from either group, but I noticed that Lifeguard David Garcia was in the first group and supporting all three with some difficulty. Lifeguard Camilo Murillo was past the first group headed to the second, but at least two of the three looked to be calmly floating. I high stepped, then dolphin dove, then put on my fins and swam to the first group to help David.

Last Sunday was beautiful with water like glass and almost no wind or waves. But there were left over troughs by the groins from the current that had been running for the previous week. These deep spots funneled what little current there was in a gentle rip current pulling away from the shore.

David looked tired and asked if I could take a man who appeared to be floating on his back. He then swam off with two kids towards shore. I started securing him and talking to him before and realizing he wasn’t breathing. A quick check showed he didn’t seem to have a pulse either. Knowing by where he was he couldn’t have been under longer than a minute or two, I knew that our standard procedure of bringing him to shore then starting CPR might be too long for his brain to go without oxygen. I gave him a breath and swam towards shore supporting his head. Senior Lifeguard Hallie Pauling swam up and asked if I needed help. I pointed at the group farther out and told her to help Camilo. Two more rescue breaths interspaced with short swims got me to chest deep water where David met me followed by Supervisor Brandon Venegas. We brought him to shore and, hoping that his system was oxygenated, I started chest compressions while Brandon set up the oxygen kit. David went to check on the other victims and then back to his assigned tower at 37th to continue lifeguarding. EMS and Fire were there and jumped in to intubate and start Advanced Life Support.

Three people were transported to the hospital, two adult men and one child. All were fine at the time of writing this save the one we did CPR on, but he’d been moved to ICU and was reportedly stable although still intubated.

David was working the early shift at tower at 37 and, incredibly, spotted the group 4 blocks away. Tower 33 wasn’t guarded yet. David won our “Night Swim” competition this year. The whole team, including our partner agencies, did a great job. But if David hadn’t been so incredibly alert, quick thinking, and such a great athlete, this would have resulted in multiple lives lost.

Teamwork Across Texas Agencies

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It has been a rough summer on the upper Texas coast up to this point and this has led to some cause and effect incidents that are both interesting and tragic. We’ve had a persistent strong wind for most of the season, resulting in strong lateral current and surf. This has, in turn, led to almost constant strong rip currents near structures and occasional strong rip currents along the open beach. It’s also the reason the troughs between the sand bars have been so unusually deep, even near to the shoreline.

Partly because of the conditions and large crowds there has been a number of heart wrenching water related deaths all along our entire stretch of coastline. But as a result there have been some pretty interesting developments recently that have potential to reduce similar incidents in the future.

A friend from the Sheriff Office contacted me awhile ago to explore the option of synchronizing some of our water safety efforts. It looks like for starters they will be using a modified version of our water safety material on their website and will even use the widget from our flag warning system. This means that if we post a red flag warning of rough surf and dangerous currents the same flag warning will show on their website as well. People can sign up to receive notifications via email or text when we set the flag color for the day and if we change it. Also, if we post special advisories for extra strong rip currents, off shore winds, air or water quality warnings, etc., those warnings will include the Bolivar Peninsula. Additionally, I met with Bolivar County parks representatives recently and they are exploring several options including that of flag warning stations like we have on the seawall, at beach parks, and on the back of lifeguard towers.

As we all know the San Luis Pass has been a problem for years. We’ve reduced the average number of drowning on the Galveston side by an ordinance banning swimming and, more recently, greatly increased signage and dedicated weekend patrols throughout the summer. On holiday weekends we even have help from the County “Citizens Emergency Response Team” or C.E.R.T. These volunteers augment our efforts at keeping people out of the dangerous waters there. This week I spoke at a Brazoria County Commissioners Court meeting about the history and dangers of the area as well as what we’re doing on our side. They are very interested in increasing their drowning prevention efforts. They’ve already put signs on their side which are very similar to ours. They’re looking at putting a law in place similar to our ordinance. This is a great thing.

Quintana and Surfside Beaches are also exploring options.  With re-vamped lifeguard programs at Port Aransas and Corpus now meeting the United States Lifesaving Association national standards as well as the two relatively new lifeguard services at South Padre island the dream of a more standardized network of protective programs for Texas beaches seems to be in reach.

May School Graduates

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We are having another tryout and lifeguard academy that will start at 7am on June 15th. Information is on our website. Spread the word!

Last weekend we had a big turnout for our lifeguard tryouts. Typically, less than half of the people that show up make it through the process and are admitted into our two week lifeguard academy. The 21 people that made it in may get whittled down more, but it looks like we have a really good crew. Unfortunately, we need more then this group to be fully staffed this summer, so we’ll try for more.

Our goal in the Beach Patrol Academy is to take a diverse bunch of people and make them into a seamless team. It’s always interesting to watch how people very different from each other become fast, lifelong friends in the process of this training and working together for a shared goal. We have one candidate that will make an unusual, but excellent addition to Galveston’s lifeguard service.

I’d like to introduce you to Bill Bower. As you’d imagine the average age in a typical academy is in the high teens or lower 20’s. Bill joined us a few weeks ago by volunteering to go through our Wave Watcher training program, which trains citizens how to spot trouble on the beach, be a tourist ambassador, and helps us expand our footprint. After getting to know a bit about our program as a volunteer, he decided to tryout. And tryout he did!

Bill holds the fastest qualifying time of all our candidates. At 62, this is impressive, but not surprising. He has an extensive background in aquatics. His father was a swim coach. Bill is a three time All American Swimming Champion. His senior year in high school he even broke the national record and went on a swimming scholarship to Tulane University. He worked for years as a swim coach and math teacher and has coached over 50 All Americans. But even more interesting is that while he coached and taught, he also traveled all over the world as a consultant for TSI.

At 60 this Renaissance Man started swimming competitively again and swims about 2 miles a day. He moved from Michigan to Galveston “for love” and is engaged to someone from Houston.

He said he was worried that he wouldn’t be accepted by the group. The first day a young woman sat next to him and said something about him being “brave”. But then they saw him swim.

Bill says, “It’s been a real challenge keeping up with the gifted athletes participating in lifeguard academy. They are an outstanding group and I’m proud to be part of the group. They have welcomed me despite my age…”

From my point of view we are very lucky to have Bill join the team. We’re excited to incorporate his experience and obvious skill in the water into our ranks. But even more, he is an impressive person who will represent Galveston well.

 

Tryout Time

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Lifeguard tryouts are this Saturday!

I’m relieved we’re finally to this point. Spring is always tough for us to staff the beaches since so many of our seasonal employees are either college or high school students. Fortunately, we’ve had a number of our high school guards who have been willing to come out and work the weekends so it’s mostly been the weekdays that have been spotty.

There are several reasons that staffing is a continual challenge. The main one is that beach guarding is hard! Not only is it physically a challenge to pass our swimming, running, and teamwork requirements, but the guards have to go through about 100 hours of tough training before they can “ride the pine” and take their place in a tower. But additionally, beach guards have to work under very challenging conditions in a harsh physical environment. They don’t only work when it’s a sunny, calm, cool day with low crowds. They’re out there when the wind is blasting 30 mph and when the heat index is well over 100. They’re out there when the current is ripping and they have to spend literally half the day in the water keeping swimmers away from rocks and rip currents. They have to deal with obnoxious people, lost kids, injured people and animals, people in crisis who are at their worst, and people who are lost or afraid or panicky.

Many may want to find an easier summer job. But those who are physically, mentally, and emotionally capable and accept the challenge receive plenty of rewards. They get to work in a beautiful environment with an incredibly diverse set of people. They are part of an elite team that is motivated, positive, and inclusive. This team becomes family for most of them. And, perhaps most importantly, they get to go home each day with the knowledge that if they were not there many people would have been hurt or worse. They get to go home knowing that they did their part in making the world a better, safer place and their actions had a direct, positive effect. They may be with people at their worse, but they are also with people at their best for the most part. They are there to celebrate being with family and friends at the beach. And they are there to help when things go bad. This work builds a level of character and confidence that is hard to get elsewhere.

We need guards who are willing to accept the challenge. Tryouts are tomorrow, May 13th at the UTMB Field House at 7am. We’ll start with a 500 meter swim in less than 10 minutes and go from there. We’ll start our lifeguard academy immediately after tryouts. Information is on our website.

If you know anyone at all who may be interested and able to work as a Beach Patrol lifeguard please encourage them to show up tomorrow morning.

It will change their life and save the lives of others.

Pleasure Pier Rescue

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The waves weren’t that big but there was a steady current running from east to west. After clearing the Pleasure Pier, it made a wide long loop to shore and, on the inside, pushed west to east. The new sand with its steeper drop off caused the waves and current to pile up and push offshore and towards the pier.

The three people shared two inner tubes between them as they entered the water between the Pleasure Pier and the groin at 27th street. They floated along and were unknowingly pulled towards the Pleasure Pier and out in a strong rip current. Waves and current mixed about half way out causing really choppy conditions. They tried to paddle towards shore but it was a hopeless battle. As they neared the end of the pier they really started getting scared and began to panic.

Lieutenant Kara Harrison runs the administrative arm of the Beach Patrol. Although not required to by her job description, she chooses to maintain her training, swimming , and skills each year. She re-qualified her lifeguard skills earlier this year and maintains them.

Kara was on her way home at the end of her shift from her office at Stewart Beach. As she passed the Pleasure Pier, her experienced eye caught a glimpse of three heads way, way out near the “T Head”. She called in that she was going in on three swimmers in distress.

Supervisor/Officer Joe Cerdas and Supervisor Gabe Macicek were at 10th street when the call dropped. They flipped on their lights and sirens and headed quickly to the area. Gabe maintained radio communications and Joe grabbed a rescue board and headed out to help. What followed was nothing short of amazing.

Joe is a full time Supervisor and a gifted “waterman”. He is our top paddler and stands out as a top athlete in an organization of incredibly gifted athletes. His rescue board cut through the chop and current like a hot knife through butter. One of the group had drifted off on an inner tube while Kara struggled to maintain her ground with the other two. He brought the first victim to shore and looked back out.

Meanwhile Kara was using her rescue tube and one of the inner tubes to keep the victims stable. She swam hard to keep them from drifting into the waves that piled up near the pier. They were ok for the moment but were unable to make progress towards shore.

Joe powered back out and took another victim in. Kara, with her lightened load, was able to make progress into the rip current and was about half way in when Joe relieved her and took the third victim back to shore.

Back on shore they heard the rare words lifeguards love to hear from a person they saved:

“If it wasn’t for you guys we would never have made it back in. You saved our lives”.

Kudos to Kara and Joe for an amazing rescue!

Easter Tragedy

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Easter was a beautiful day on the beach. It was sunny and warm with a light breeze with moderate surf. All the beaches were packed and the guards were busy moving them away from the rock groins and other dangerous areas.

A 31 year old man and his 12 year old son walked down to the beach on 35th street. They waded into the cool water and went out to the first sandbar, which is about 20 yards from shore.

I heard a call on the radio from the lifeguard at 37th street that there was a possible drowning. Two of our trucks beat me there during the 5 minutes it took me to reach the area. When I arrived, Beach Patrol Captain Tony Pryor had assumed the role of “Incident Commander”. We had a jet ski team in the water and several guards were diving in the last seen point. A fire fighter had assumed the role of “Safety Officer” and was keeping track of all the people assigned to the various roles, especially the ones in the water. Other firefighters were on the adjacent groins and scanning. Police officers were controlling access to the area and taking information from witnesses and family members. We called the Jesse Tree Survivor Support Network team to provide support for the family while we searched.

As I pulled up to the scene and started getting the details from Captain Pryor he spotted something that looked like a shirt in the water. I saw it as well and, upon closer inspection, you could tell it was a body. I ran into the water as Captain Pryor called the Jet Ski team and waved to the swimmers in the area. We converged on it and the crew had the body on the back of the rescue sled and was starting CPR before they even hit the beach. The man was transferred to the back of the Beach Patrol truck as CPR was continued seamlessly. He was again transferred to the waiting EMS unit on the seawall and taken to John Sealy Emergency Room. Jesse Tree re-routed to John Sealy and provided support to the family as they were informed that the man could not be saved. They stayed with them for three full hours counseling, translating, and just being there.

Back on the beach the story that unfolded from witnesses was both heroic and unbearably tragic. The 12 year old son watched his father slip under the water, but survived because a young man that was renting umbrellas in the area spotted him having trouble and rushed out to him, risking his own life so that this 12 year old boy could live. The boy had barely remained afloat after he and his dad separated. The young man got to him just in time and was able to make the rescue.

7 busy hours later, at the end of the day, the Jesse Tree crew met the affected guards at our office for a critical incident stress diffusion.

Teamwork

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Calvin Stevens Jr., a new parking attendant, rode his Segue up on the seawall. As he went through his normal routine of helping people park, answering questions about the island, and serving generally as a tourist ambassador he noticed something out of the ordinary. Looking down at the 53rd street groin, he noticed a young man inside the no-swimming area.

Calvin is new to the job but he’s no stranger to Galveston or the beach. His Father, Calvin Stevens Sr. has worked with me in the Park Board system since the late 80’s. He works as a supervisor in the Coastal Zone Management Department. He is very conscientious and serious about his work. Apparently this rubbed off on his son as well.

Calvin Stevens Jr. impressed me at a recent training we put together for “De-escalation and Self Defense Techniques”. I helped the world renowned Grand Master Ishmael Robles teach this course and noticed that Calvin was really focused and serious while still enjoying himself.

As Calvin saw the young man in the no swimming area he waved and yelled telling him not to go any deeper because it was dangerous and pointed at the signs the guy had walked around. The guy heard him but turned around and waded out into the water anyway. Calvin quickly called his Supervisor and told him to call Beach Patrol on the radio. As soon as the guy started walking deeper than his waist he dropped into the hole by the groin and was quickly carried out by the rip current. He struggled briefly then submerged.

Our rescue truck was only 4 blocks away and pulled up within seconds. They saw the guy collapsed on the shoreline. He had drifted out and around the groin and back to shore. He was laying there having trouble breathing and vomiting repeatedly. Our crew stabilized him and got him quickly into an ambulance. He survived and was released from the hospital the next morning.

Calvin has no responsibility to watch the water. He’s definitely busy enough dealing with the hundreds of tourists he comes in contact with each day. But he paid attention when we mentioned the issues with rip currents we have along the seawall. And he was alert and conscientious enough to notice the problem and do something about it.

One thing we’ve been trying to focus on in the Park Board is cross training and increasing communication between departments with the goal of creating a broader network of support for tourists and locals alike. Beach Patrol now teaches all parking attendants, park staff and others first aid and CPR. Along with that we cover topics like how to spot people in trouble and what to do. This de-escalation/self defense course was a trial that we want to repeat with the park staff. And now we are scheduling park staff to join for the rip current presentation of our upcoming Wave Watchers community program.

With people like Calvin Stevens this type of teamwork is a natural fit.  What a great person to represent Galveston!