Lifeguards Are Keeping Summer Safe At Treadwell

By Nancy K. Crevier

A chair that affords a bird’s-eye view of the world, a chance to be outdoors soaking up the rays and working on a enviable tan — the perks of being a lifeguard make the job look pretty sweet to the average person. But P.J. O’Dell, head lifeguard for Treadwell Park on Philo Curtis Road in Sandy Hook, said that the job is far from cushy. A lot goes on behind the scenes and behind the Ray-Bans to make the pool a fun and safe place to while away a hot summer day.

Like all lifeguards in town, P.J., who has been a lifeguard for four years, had to take the 40-hour-plus Red Cross-certified course and pass a written and practical exam, and receive CPR certification and first aid certification, as well. The courses add up to several additional hours of training that are ongoing for those who elect to become lifeguards. Every year lifeguards renew their CPR certification and weekly training sessions are held at the pool.

There is a set routine that is followed at Treadwell Park before the pool can open for the day, and the lifeguards are responsible for making sure it happens, said P.J. “We have to unchain the chairs from the fence and set them up. There is usually one looking over the main pool, one at the diving area, and another one near the lanes. The umbrellas are put up, the clocks are set up, and the chlorine levels in the pool are checked.” While the Newtown Parks’ staff is responsible for cleaning the locker rooms, the lifeguards still make a point of checking the locker rooms for spot cleaning that may need to be done.

It would seem that things like chairs and clocks could be left up day to day, but in the past, explained P.J., the guards would come in to work in the morning, only to discover the fence had been scaled overnight and the chairs and equipment pushed into the pool.

Throughout the day, the lifeguards skim the pool for debris, collect items for lost and found, and gather up garbage that is left behind, too.

The lifeguards tend to their fair share of boo-boos every summer as part of their job. All of them are trained in first aid, and stubbed toes, minor cuts and scratches, bee stings and tick bites are looked after in a professional manner. “We can’t take ticks off, or remove bee stingers, though,” said P.J. “People don’t believe us, but we aren’t even allowed to have tweezers here.” The reason for that is the potential of leaving part of a tick still imbedded or of releasing additional venom into the victim by pinching a stinger left behind. “We can tell an adult how to remove it, but we can’t do it ourselves,” he said.

P.J. is in charge of a staff of 15 full-time guards plus several substitutes this year, ranging in age from the mid-teens to the early 20s. From two to six lifeguards staff per shift, depending on the time of day and the weather. “We have a good staff this year,” he said.

Behind the dark glasses, slathered in sunscreen and perched high above it all, the lifeguards are always on the alert throughout the 15-minute to half hour stints they put in at each chair. Each station has a particular area to watch, although all of the guards overlap each others’ stations. “From the main chair, back by the locker rooms, the lifeguard has the whole main area of the pool to cover,” said P.J. “The camp chair lifeguard covers the lap lanes and the main area, and the diving station guard covers the diving area and the main area.”

The kiddie pool is the only area not staffed by a lifeguard on a regular basis. That area is the responsibility of the parents and other adults who choose to let their children swim there. “If we have extra staff, though, we will place a guard there anyway,” said P.J., “especially if it seems crowded.”

There is a maximum capacity allowed at Treadwell, kept track of via the pool guard, but only once can P.J. remember the pool having to turn away any swimmers due to overcrowding. “It wasn’t pretty. People get pretty mad when they can’t use the pool.”

Occasionally, a pool-goer will find the pool shut down for other reasons. “If someone vomits in the pool, or a diaper gets in the pool, for sanitary reasons we need to shock the pool [with chlorine] and close it for eight hours. It’s not good.” On the rare occasion the pumps fail, creating a need to close the pool until water can be properly filtered again.

Weather-related closings are out of the hands of the guards, of course, but must be undertaken for safety reasons. “We have to keep the pool closed for half an hour past the last time we hear a roll of thunder,” P.J. explained, “and also if lightning is seen. If it is raining so hard it impairs the vision of the guards, we might decide to close the pool until the rain lets up.”

Tending to the hundreds of people in the pool on a hot day can be stressful. A lifeguard’s main purpose is to be a first responder should a swimmer run into problems. “The majority of the guards have three to four years of experience, and it is experience that comes into play when determining if a truly distressful situation is taking place in the pool,” P.J. said. If someone appears to be in distress, is flailing about or no longer moving forward, that is when the lifeguard springs into action. “You don’t want to jump the gun, but you aren’t going to wait, either,” said P.J.

At Treadwell, the most common “save” is for small children who lose their footing and panic, he said. “Around the stairwell, it can get crowded with little kids and that is where most accidents occur. They might get pushed over and when they can’t touch, they panic.” It is rare that the save is for an adult, but lifeguards at the pool keep all ages in sight as they constantly scan the surface of the water.

Lifeguards are also there to enforce the rules and to put a stop to horseplay that could endanger swimmers. There are three things Treadwell Park pool users can do to make a lifeguard’s job easier, said P.J. First and foremost, “Pay attention to your children,” P.J. urged. “There is a tendency for adults to socialize and not watch their kids. Parents should always know where their kids are in the water.” An adult must accompany children under the age of 12 to the pool.

The second thing is to follow the rules. The rules are posted on the fence and in the parks and recreation literature. A new rule this year, said P.J., is no flips from the diving board. “We know flips are fun, but it has just become too difficult to determine who knows how to do them and who doesn’t. How do we keep track of that?” he asked. “We have inexperienced kids come to close to the edge of the board or the edge of the pool doing flips and that is too dangerous.” With only one pool available for the entire town this summer, too, the pool can be quite crowded on hot days, said P.J. “It is hard to keep track of everyone diving and doing flips, so we had to make that rule this year.”

Lastly, said P.J. “Parents should educate their kids on what the rules are before they get to the pool.”

For the most part, the people that the Treadwell lifeguards meet during the summer are easy-going and cooperative, said P.J. People contact is a big part of the job, so lifeguards are usually people who enjoy others.

“You get to know everyone,” said Lauren Kotwicki, a 2006 staff member who is in her fourth year of life guarding at Treadwell Park. “We have our regulars here, and they’re all fun.”

“I love the kids,” agreed P.J. “I’ve taught private lessons to kids I’ve met here at the pool and even babysat for some of them. We get to meet people and know them, and that’s the best part of the job.”

For Jim Morlath, a five-year veteran of Treadwell’s lifeguard staff, it is not only the pool patrons but his fellow workers that make his job a pleasure. “The lifeguards we work with are a great bunch to work with. There’s a nice kinship among the lifeguards here,” he said.

It is true that lifeguards get to enjoy the fine summer weather. “Where else can you be out in the sun all day and get paid?” asked P.J. But it is the sense of accomplishment and self-satisfaction a lifeguard experiences that makes the situation a very special summer job. And that is what keeps them coming back to the water’s edge, year after year.