Seaside Park feeling the late-summer staffing shortage of ocean lifeguards
This week, Seaside Park had to close numerous blocks from swimming because of the shortages.
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It's that time of year when many kids head back to college or sports camps, and that means less lifeguards at the Jersey Shore.
This week, Seaside Park had to close numerous blocks from swimming because of the shortages.
Larry Brennan and his granddaughter Kaylin noticed right away the missing lifeguards.
“There's plenty of people on the beach, but we noticed kids playing on the stands that weren't even put up yet,” said Brennan. “I think it's going to be a problem making everybody walk down to the yellow flags for sitting here that's a long walk away it's going to be a problem I think.”
But there are still plenty of lifeguards to swim safely in Seaside Park, says lifeguard captain Jim Rankin.
“People are still going to come. You get a good day like today. They're going to come out. We have to do the best that we can to give them the safety that they need and we're doing a job of it now,” said Rankin.
Once the guards leave for the day, responsibilities shift to the fire department to keep watch over these beaches. Training takes place several times a month just in case an after-hours rescue is needed.
“We've taken on about a dozen new members this summer, so we are out once or twice a week training all of them preparing them for the fall because once lifeguards do leave, we start getting real busy,” said Seaside Park Fire Chief Dennis Vincent.
With many schools starting before Labor Day, that will leave more stands empty. Rankin says check your local beach’s social media pages to see what blocks are staffed for swimming.
“I'm a teacher so I will be going back to school too so that's going to be a challenge for that four-day stretch to get through because usually the last week of the year we rely heavily on those high school kids that we have to kind of float us to Labor Day weekend,” said Rankin.
Although there is a trained fire and rescue crew nearby after hours, their message remains: only swim with lifeguards on duty.
