Galveston Island Beach Patrol

Group saved in risky rescue

penny — Fri, 18 May 2012 18:08:11 +0000

Brandon Venegas sat on his lifeguard tower at 17th Street on Mother’s Day scanning the water systematically. He gave special attention to the area closer to the jetty as there was a weak rip current running on the west side of the pier.
There were several people swimming alone or in pairs on both sides and a group of about 10 farther from the pier on his west side. He noticed someone getting a little too close for comfort and called in, “17 to headquarters, moving a swimmer on the west side.”
He left his radio in the lifeguard tower and went to the shoreline trying to get the person’s attention by whistling. They either didn’t hear or ignored him and drifted closer to the no swimming zone. Brandon waded out and finally ended up swimming to the person and taking them back to chest-deep water before they got too close to the rip current.
Suddenly, he noticed some erratic splashing and heard yelling farther from the pier. The group had stepped off the sand bar they were standing on. He told the person he’d just brought in to call 911 and tell them to send a lifeguard truck and swam toward the commotion quickly.
A few seconds later, he was in the middle of a maelstrom. He found one guy going under and wrapped him in his rescue tube. Suddenly, the group panicked. One after another, they started going under as Brandon swam to the ones in the most distress and finally had five people balanced precariously on his one rescue tube. The other half of the group swam in to the sand bar and were OK.
Brandon knew many drownings happen in twos or threes, and if one person started panicking again, all five could be pulled under and his own life could be in jeopardy. He was afraid but acted quickly.
With as calm a voice as he could muster, he told them they’d all be OK and they all should breathe deeply, relax and float as much as they could. He knew if he tried to bring them through the surf line he’d lose several of them. His calming words made the difference.
A few minutes later, two lifeguard trucks pulled up and help arrived. Three guards swam out quickly and divided the victims. Once everyone was stable, they were able to bring the whole group back to shore without any problems. EMS checked everyone then released them at the beach.
This Week
Upcoming events include the Beach Review on Saturday at 52nd Street and Seawall Boulevard in the early afternoon. The annual lifeguard Night Swim will be at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Flagship Pier, ending at Stewart Beach at dark.
Sixty-five to 75 lifeguards and lifeguard candidates will duke it out running, swimming, climbing, paddling and crawling to see who will be this year’s champion. Come watch the pain! Info is on our website, galvestonbeachpatrol.com.
Peter Davis is chief of the Galveston Island Beach Patrol. The views in this column are Davis’ and do not necessarily represent those of the Beach Patrol, Galveston Park Board of Trustees or any other entity. Information on the Beach Patrol is at galvestonbeachpatrol.com.

New rules along Galveston’s beach

penny — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:20:04 +0000

Summer is upon us. The water has hit 80 degrees, and the early crowds we saw this spring have not slacked off. Aside from the seaweed, the conditions have been fantastic.
Looking at the calendar, it seems everything hits at once. The lifeguard academy, Beach Review, Night Swim, Galveston Marine Response Mass Casualty Exercise, Memorial Day weekend and the sand castle competition, to name a few, all are just days or weeks away.
One big sign summer is here is that the busy season beach ordinances go into effect from Tuesday to Labor Day.
The one that impacts the most people is the multiuse ordinance, which affects surfing and any other nonmotorized, hard-bottom craft, such as kayaks, kiteboards, windsurfing boards, etc. During the majority of the year, these are only prohibited within 300 feet of the 61st and 91st streets fishing piers.
Starting Tuesday, there are restrictions of these activities from the shoreline to 50 yards from shore — the designated swimming area — in certain parts of the beach front. The areas affected are several, but the big one is from 53rd to 61st streets. This is a tough one for surfers, as 61st Street is a good surf spot.
For the summer, surfing is prohibited on the popular east side of the pier, and, as always, 300 feet from the west side. Things have been dicey on the east side this spring with lots of good surf days. Fortunately, the pier management, as well as the pier users and surfers, have tried to accommodate each other and there have been few problems.
Historically, it’s been more difficult since Hurricane Alicia in 1983. The pier was rebuilt shorter than its original footprint, and sand renourishment projects have effectively shortened it more. Before Alicia, there generally was a lot of room between the surf zone on normal day and the “T” of the pier. Now, the surf breaks in the same area as the good fishing, so everyone is closer together. The Galveston Police Department and the Galveston Island Beach Patrol have made innumerable efforts there to move surfers out of the fishing area this spring alone.
More details on seasonal ordinances can be found by going to galvestonbeachpatrol.com and clicking the link to “Galveston Municipal Codes — Chapter 8 Beaches and Waterways” on the lower-right corner of the page.
Saturday is our final of three lifeguard tryouts. If you know anyone interested who you think has the right stuff, we’ll start at 7 a.m. at the University of Texas Medical Branch swimming pool.
From there, they’ll do a run-swim-run at the beach before interviewing and drug testing. The lifeguard academy officially starts just before lunch. Candidates are paid minimum wage to go through 100 grueling hours of training in a two-week period before being allowed to work a tower. Once we get through Memorial Day weekend, there are a couple of weeks until the junior lifeguard program starts and we’re in full swing.
So, here we go. See you on the beach!
Peter Davis is chief of the Galveston Island Beach Patrol. The views in this column are Davis’ and do not necessarily represent those of the Beach Patrol, Galveston Park Board of Trustees or any other entity. Information on the Beach Patrol is at galvestonbeachpatrol.com.

Firefighters don’t just battle fires

penny — Fri, 04 May 2012 14:04:05 +0000

The man and woman walked along the jetty at 51st Street one morning a couple of Fridays ago. They were close to the slippery part of the rocks near the water. Suddenly, a wave reared up and swept them off the jetty and into the foamy water.
Neither were good swimmers, and they struggled in the waves and tried to swim against the rip current toward shore. They tired quickly and began to lose forward momentum.
Their legs sank, and they struggled separately to keep their heads above water as their arms moved in the infamous “climbing-the-ladder” motion that is a last-ditch effort to get a few more breaths before submerging below the rough, churning surf.
It looked like they would not live through the experience.
A report from the fire department sums up what happened next:
“A man in a brown suit recognized the two swimmers were in grave danger and sprang into action. He ran to the end of the jetty and threw the jetty buoy toward the female swimmer. He had asked for others to call 911. When Engine 7 arrived moments later, they found the two swimmers going under water and tumbling in the waves.”
Another fire department report states:
“Fire crews observed two swimmers in distress near the end of the rock groin. Firefighter Duepner grabbed a rescue throw disc from the fire engine and deployed it to one swimmer. The engine crew used it to pull this swimmer to safety.
“The other swimmer was drifting away and out from us as we arrived with a full bag of floats and rescue equipment. A rope bag was thrown as well as other discs from the end of the rock groin, to no effect the swimmer was being hit (by) a set of large waves and was going under numerous times.
“Firefighter Cangelosi put on his life vest and readied to enter the water. At this point, the swimmer had made contact with a jetty life ring that had been thrown before our arrival. The swimmer made use of this to remain buoyant.”
From here, Capt. Tony Pryor from the beach patrol and firefighter Cangelosi entered the water and made a joint swim rescue of the woman. EMS checked out both people, and they ended up being OK. Tony told me later both would be dead if not for the quick thinking and brave actions of the firefighters.
Our fire chief, Jeff Smith, is not only a friend, but a team player and a great guy to work with.
He said: “The Galveston Fire Department works with the beach patrol in the Galveston Marine Response program that provides for a unified, multiagency response team in times of crisis. The Galveston Marine Response teams were formed to provide the highest level of safety and response to all water emergencies.”
One thing is certain. Increased coordination between agencies and the heroic actions of fire fighters saved two lives.
Peter Davis is chief of the Galveston Island Beach Patrol. The views in this column are Davis’ and do not necessarily represent those of the Beach Patrol, Galveston Park Board of Trustees or any other entity. Information on the Beach Patrol is at galvestonbeachpatrol.com.

What you should know about lightning

penny — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 00:27:24 +0000

On a summer day in the early 80s, a 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. He had survived his first lightning strike. Later, he would be struck again while playing tennis with an aluminum racket.
A similar incident occurred last year to a lifeguard in Florida but resulted in a fatality. Every year, many people on or near bodies of water are struck by lightning. In the U.S., the highest numbers are in states bordering the Great Lakes, southern states bordering the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico and the four corner states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona.
Lightning most frequently occurs within 10 miles of a thunderstorm, so it is generally recommended 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.
Recently, I’ve been part of a group working on a joint public education program for the United States Lifesaving Organization and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, which includes the National Weather Service.
I realized that there were lots of things I didn’t know about lightning. For example, I wasn’t aware that it wasn’t enough to seek shelter in a building. It has to be fully enclosed, grounded and have electrical wiring 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 information about lightning safety, a good site is www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov.
Peter Davis is chief of the Galveston Island Beach Patrol. The views in this column are Davis’ and do not necessarily represent those of the Beach Patrol, Galveston Park Board of Trustees or any other entity. Information on the Beach Patrol is at galvestonbeachpatrol.com.

Summer beach events already in motion

penny — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:14:30 +0000

Saturday, we have lifeguard tryouts.

Lifeguard candidates will meet at the Field House at 7 a.m. If they pass the swim and interview, they still have to go through a grueling run-swim-run-swim-run in the ocean before being admitted to the 100-hour academy. If you know anyone interested, information is on our website.

Also, we’ll have the second annual tryout and training for the Galveston Marine Response team at 9 a.m.

This is open to our local police, EMS and firefighters and is designed to create a cohesive group of first responders for the next time a hurricane heads this way.

Even though it seems early, we’re already planning for a number of summer events. Our annual barbecue fundraiser is going to be June 22, and one of our most dedicated parent supporters already is out pounding the pavement asking for donations for our silent auction. Don’t be surprised if Mary Streck comes into your business soon.

If you’re interested in donating, contact Streck, 409-256-6241 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 409-256-6241 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or busyohmy(at)aol.com. Proceeds go toward scholarships, competition, equipment and other good stuff.

Last week, I went out to the site where Mia Briones, 2, drowned.

I turned off my radio and phone and walked slowly through the area to absorb as much as I could.

What looked like glass became glitter upon closer inspection. Painted egg shells were scattered around an area that appeared to have been used for an Easter egg hunt.

Camping supplies had been hastily thrown aside in the dark as the large family became aware of the tragedy. Footprints still were where they found her floating face down.

At the edge of the pond, someone had filled a tiny cup with flowers and laid a bouquet of wildflowers next to it. I picked up a tiny stuffed animal lying next to the saucer and held it for a long time, meditating on how the family went from the joy of being together on a beautiful Easter day to unimaginable tragedy.

I usually visit the sites of drownings. Working 29 years worth of drownings can have an effect on a person. It becomes easy to shut out the emotions of this type of thing after working so many through the years.

To a limited extent, it’s necessary to do this in order to focus on the job. It is, however, important that we fight against the temptation to lose all empathy. To stay engaged, stay proactive and keep from getting complacent, you have to remain motivated.

This gives the strength and commitment to put in all the hours and energy needed. The thing that can keep that edge is to remember every life lost is someone’s child, spouse, friend, mother or father, and what that means to them.

We can’t prevent every drowning. We can, however, use the resources provided by a supportive community to minimize those losses as much as humanly possible.

Peter Davis is chief of the Galveston Island Beach Patrol. The views in this column are Davis’ and do not necessarily represent those of the Beach Patrol, Galveston Park Board of Trustees or any other entity. Information on the Beach Patrol is at galvestonbeachpatrol.com.

Security stayed busy during marathon weekend

penny — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 21:07:04 +0000

By the end of the day Sunday, we were pretty beat up. Thousands and thousands of people were on the island, and we had a marathon weekend trying to keep them safe.

By the end of the weekend, we had moved 1,761 swimmers from dangerous areas, such as the ship channel or areas near the rocks known to have rip currents and holes. Our tourist police program totaled 598 enforcement actions, 229 of which involved glass or litter. The bulk of the rest were alcohol enforcements along the seawall.

Even though, or maybe partially because, we put so much work in, there were very few big problems. Only a handful of medical emergencies were severe enough for EMS to take to the hospital.

It seemed that aside from all the swimmers moved, the biggest issue was an overwhelming number of lost children. Most of these were at Stewart Beach, but there were a number at East Beach and along the seawall. Working with the park board security, we totaled 63 missing people by the end of the weekend, all of whom were reunited with family or friends.

What’s weird about all of these lost children was, typically, we have lots of lost children when the current is running. This weekend, there was very little current and there were many young lost children. Many of them were 3 to 5 years old. We are more concerned when the children are younger or if the child was last seen in the water.

You can imagine what we went through when, just as everyone was getting off duty, the report of a missing 2 year old came in at Stewart Beach. We called in the Galveston police to help and sent four lifeguard trucks to search quickly in the failing light. After a half-hour, we found the child and everyone went home.

A few minutes later, the 911 dispatcher received a call that another 2-year-old child was lost at 10th Street. It took a little while, but with the combined help of Galveston EMS, fire, police, we were able to find this one as well. By then, it was a little after 9 p.m. Sunday. After three 12- to 14-hour days in a row — I was beat. Just as my head hit the pillow, and probably that of the other Beach Patrol supervisors, another 911 call came in of a possible drowning of yet another 2 year old.

Little Mia Briones was with her large family. There were 12 children and a number of adults. As they packed up to leave in the dark, there understandably was some confusion. Mia walked unnoticed into a nearby pond. Her family found her floating in the water, and a bystander made a heroic effort at CPR, but she’d been under too long.

Our heart goes out to Mia’s family and our pledge is that we will do everything in our power to prevent similar tragedies for our ever-growing number of guests who visit Galveston’s beaches.

A busy beach weekend ahead

penny — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 21:05:46 +0000

Last weekend was another busy one. Large crowds and moderate surf conditions were a tough combo for the lifeguards.

We moved 521 people from dangerous areas, responded to six medical calls and worked with the park board security to reunite six lost children with their families. Our Tourist Oriented Police program logged 148 tourist contacts and 76 enforcement actions.

We also provided water support to the almost 3,000 swimmers in the Memorial Hermann Ironman Triathlon. Thankfully, we had the help of a volunteer kayak club, the Galveston Police Department Dive Team and Jamaica Beach Fire and Rescue.

Our combined efforts resulted in 157 swim assists and five rescues. Only one of the rescues was a medical call, a minor asthma attack. Most of the swim assists were either the result of people panicking near the start of the race or under training for such a long event.

Heavy inland rains last week resulted in an overwhelming amount of debris washing down the Brazos and Colorado rivers. A large portion of it landed on the West End of the island a few days ago and have been giving the hardworking park board beach maintenance department a very rough time. Large tree trunks and branches covered most of the beach. Much of this has to be cut up with chain saws and trucked away.

It’s an extremely labor-intensive task for a crew already spread thin trying to handle litter and seaweed along all 32 miles of beach.

Both the lifeguard and maintenance crews get superstitious when things are going well because that seems to be when Mother Nature drops another bomb.

This weekend probably won’t give anyone a break either. Easter weekend already is upon us, and we are gearing up. The maintenance guys are going to put out the remaining lifeguard towers this week, and we are having another requalification swim for returning guards Saturday morning.

We are scheduling pretty much everyone we have available because Easter is a big weekend on the beach. It’s also the weekend pretty much all of the beach vendors are in place. Umbrellas, food vendors, personal water craft renters and more should all be out ready to take advantage of large crowds, warm water and a big, family oriented vacation.

I like this time of year very much. Everyone seems to be in a good mood and the weather seems to be just right to keep tempers from getting frayed. I also like the shift from busy weekends to quiet weekdays.

I like the quiet time to do what I like most. After work and school, my daughter Kai and I have resumed our daily surf lessons. Lately, her favorite is tandem surfing, where we catch a wave, then she climbs up on me and strikes a pose. Usually the pose she chooses involves some kind of accidental eye poking or choking of her dad. It’s a work in progress.

Beaches are busier earlier and later now

penny — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 21:04:24 +0000

Here we go! Another beautiful, busy weekend. No seaweed, calm water, perfect water and air temperature and large, well-behaved crowds.

Any more of these and our property values will rise. Technically, that should be the last week of spring break, but I have a feeling if the weather holds, we’ll be looking at busy weekends until the summer madness kicks in.

We’ve been reviewing stats and staffing patterns, and the reality has set in that Galveston’s beaches are busier earlier and later than they were just a few years back. Last weekend looked like a weekend in June. Again, our luck held with calm water and very few big incidents, even though we were busy with small stuff all weekend.

The action is showing no sign of slowing. Sunday is the Memorial Hermann 70.3 half Ironman. We’re working with the Ironman staff, a volunteer kayak club and the Galveston Police Department Marine Division to provide water security. With 3,000 registered racers and Lance Armstrong, it’s going to be a huge event and a big deal for Galveston.

We work the watercourse with a modified version of how we guard the beach. Lifeguards work on rescue boards, so they can sit above the water to spot people and have flotation for all the swim assists and rescues we typically make during the event.

Other guards work on personal watercraft (Jet Skis) and cover a zone of several guards. Lifeguards communicate with the personal watercraft crews and each other with a combination of whistles and hand signals, which are the same ones we use on the beach front.

The personal watercraft operators have waterproof radio headsets so they can communicate with an incident commander on the shore.

That way, we can triage the patient in the water and then pass the info so the incident commander, EMS and the Ironman workers know the racers’ numbers and have the patient information. Most of the people rescued are tired swimmers, but we usually have a couple more serious cases that go directly to the EMS crews.

At the end of the race, the lifeguards and police divers stay on the water until the Ironman staff confirms all swimmers have been cleared.

Saturday, we held our first lifeguard tryouts of the season. The next one is April 21. We also held the first tryout and training session for the Galveston Marine Response task force.

Several members of both the Galveston Fire Department and the Jamaica Beach Fire and Rescue participated and are now the first to qualify for this year’s roster of emergency responders who will join forces under the Emergency Management Department’s umbrella in the event of a major storm.

Spring break was a water safety success

penny — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 21:03:07 +0000

Spring break technically still is going on, but last week was the bulk of it. The crowds were, for the most part, very well behaved and consisted mainly of families and young adults out enjoying the fantastic weather and great conditions on the beach.

We flew a yellow flag most of the time because of the moderate surf, but lack of strong lateral currents meant little or no rip currents and corresponding drop-offs near the jetties.

Even though the crowds were calm, the sheer volume of people meant we were pretty busy. Even though it rained the first weekend, our stats were still pretty impressive. During the nine-day period, we moved 1,611 swimmers from dangerous areas and responded to 55 medical calls, three of which were bad enough for EMS to transport. Working with the Galveston Police Department-managed Park Board Security Detail, we reunited 25 lost children with their parents.

Our new city-funded tourism oriented police lifeguards were out on mountain bikes patrolling the seawall and were pretty busy as well. They focused on welcoming and providing information for tourists while keeping an eye out for people littering, drinking or using glass containers.

The program totaled 178 enforcement actions, 74 of which were specifically related to littering and use of glass bottles. They totaled an additional 1,286 tourist contacts that involved providing Galveston tourism information and/or water safety information. It was definitely a good start for what looks to be a promising program.

The group that rotates through this job is going through the law enforcement academy and should be sworn in by July. In the fall, they will go through a portion of the Galveston Police Department’s field training program. The goal is to learn how the two departments can most effectively work together while gaining valuable experience and providing support to the GPD patrol officers.

We had only a couple of big emergencies during the holiday. We had a swimmer in distress at 12th Street who was rescued by ex-lifeguard and Galveston waterman Taylor Stickline with the help of Supervisor Austin Kirwin, who was on TOP. patrol at the time, and lifeguard Ryan Martinez. The victim was taken to the hospital but was stable.

We also had a possible drowning of an 11-year-old boy at Stewart Beach. When someone is reported missing in the water by a person who looked away for less than 5 minutes, we consider this a much bigger deal than a person merely lost. In this case, security and EMS were called to help, and one of the off-duty Galveston Police Department officers found him by the big inflatable slide.

All in all, it was a successful week. We were lucky the water wasn’t too rough, or the large crowds could have overwhelmed us. We also are really glad we were supported in our decision to schedule a few tower lifeguards during spring break this year.

That made all the difference!

Volunteers needed for support network

penny — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 02:08:30 +0000

Looks like the third year in a row that we’ll have another big spring break.

Seems like one day its winter and the next the sun’s out, the water’s warm, and the beaches are packed — ready for another year on the beach and all the challenges, work and even joy that it brings.

Spring break signals the beginning of our true season. Time for our staff to put its skills and training to the test. Time to find lost children, rescue swimmers, deal with medical emergencies and, occasionally, deal with drownings.

As you know, we put a great deal of effort into preventing drownings, and the numbers have been reduced through the years. Unfortunately, despite these efforts there are usually a handful annually.

Support for the families traditionally has been one of the hardest things for our staff. If the body is not recovered rapidly, families can end up sitting on the beach near the last spot that person was for long periods of time. In these few cases, there can be the need for food and drink, counseling, translating, acting as a point of contact for different agencies, dealing with consulates and embassies, etc.

As you can imagine, this was way beyond the scope of what a lifeguard agency can effectively handle. Our friends and partners at The Jesse Tree stepped up a few years ago. Ted Handley and David Mitchell developed a program with our input called the Survivor Support Network.

The SSN is a web of people and organizations that respond to this type of situation. They have filled all the needs described above and even provided critical incident stress debriefings to the lifeguard staff after undergoing traumatic experiences. They have provided this service at little or no cost to us for a number of years, and we are deeply appreciative, as are the people whose lives they touch.

All kinds of nonprofits, like The Jesse Tree, are suffering in the economy, so volunteers are all the more important. The SSN relies on volunteers groups and people to function. Every year, we have an organizational meeting and training session where interested people and groups come to find out what the program entails and undergo a brief training session.

This year’s meeting will be at the Galveston Island Park Board building from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday.

If you or your group is interested in participating in this incredible program, contact Mitchell, 409-762-2233 or dmitchel(at)jessetree.net. We’re especially interested in finding licensed grief counselors or people who specialize in critical incident stress management, but everyone’s got a skill or resource that is welcome.

Typically, the SSN is only activated a handful of times a year, but when it is, the need is severe. I can’t begin to tell you the difference I’ve seen it have on the lives it touches. If you feel this is for you, get with David. We appreciate it.