sea bright Ocean lifeguards, watch the water!

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The ultimate objective of our lifeguard operations is to prevent drowning, water rescues and injuries using aquatic hazard mitigation techniques taken from some of the top lifeguard services worldwide. The vigilance of Sea Bright's lifeguards is second to none because we take imence pride in keeping the public safe. 

"A prevention is better than an assist, an assist  is  better than a rescue, a rescue is better than a body recovery."   Ron Trenton City of San Diego Lifeguard Service  (pre-SDFD) 

Sea Bright's ocean lifeguards use different methods to manage risk and communicate with the public, they include:  

1.  Passive Warnings includes the daily and routine use of signs and flags to inform the public of beach and ocean hazards.  (Please see the link below)

2.   Active Warnings include general use of  whistles, arm signals and PA megaphone systems.  This method  also includes the use of social media and and Pixel Alerts  to pass along vital information to the public.

3.  Contact Warnings  this type of warning is the most effective and involves our lifeguard personnel speaking directly with a beach patron  face-to-face.  sometimes  called a personal contact.

Our lifeguards stand ready to effect rescue if all else has failed. An ocean lifeguard receives well over 70 hours of training in ocean rescue and aquatic  medical response during their first season. Rookies train extensively in the ocean and river swift waters where they learn their trade craft participating in worst case scenarios long after they complete Rookie School.

Sea Bright’s ocean lifeguards are specifically trained to make rescues independently in rip currents.  On bigger days  our beach guards use only surf fins and RFD’s eliminating the need for a two person land line operation.  Because we train extensively whenever the surf is up, primarily in the impact zone, our personnel learn quickly how to use even the most dangerous rip currents to their advantage during rescue operations. 

If you are at the beach and require medical aid notify your closest ocean lifeguard or call 911.

Every Sea Bright Ocean Lifeguard holds CPR, AED and First-aid certifications by the American Heart Association. Some of our lifeguards hold paramedic and EMT certifications from the State of NJ and National Registry.

Our rescue unit carries electric suction, oxygen and an AED on each ATV. We practice highly coordinated   resuscitation including Pit Crew CPR (high performance)

We have at least two senior lifeguards  assigned to the Surf Rescue Team daily, one must be an Ocean Rescue Specialist-EMT. The job of our mobile two person team when assigned to a medical aid is to locate and stabilize the victim (in the water or on the beach) and extricate them as quickly as possible to the awaiting EMS ambulance. 

Our SRT handles all medical responses to our seven private  beach clubs within the borough. SRT works very closely with the Sea Bright First Aid Squad and with Sea Bright Fire Rescue to provide seamless care in an otherwise chaotic environment. In some cases one of our lifeguard-EMT’s will ride with the patient to the hospital in the FAS ambulance when acuity dictates and staffing permits giving our guards even more exposure to lifesaving skills. The sick and injured receive a better level of service when departments enjoy working together as we do in our boro. 

We are very thankful to our public safety partners and honor the responsibility of serving the town of Sea Bright with our fellow first responders.  

Our senior lifeguards as part of Surf Rescue Team 43-88  have a responsibility of patrolling the public beaches and unguarded areas of Sea Bright even after the primary lifeguard stands go off duty for the day. The Zulu Shift lifeguards are meant to be a reactive rescue unit only, designated to respond and patrol the public beaches performing preventative actions when required. This unit is not generally used as a mobile lifeguard stand and it’s presence does not mean that an area of water is under observation. 

Sea Bright's lifeguards search for and find about 25 missing children a year, most within 5 minutes of the initial report. We work very closely with the Police department and the beach clubs in a coordinated effort to locate missing children quickly and effectively.