On a hot, steamy summer day, BREC’s Liberty Lagoon Water Park is packed with people wanting to have a little fun in the sun.
“We’ll have anywhere from 24 to 28 that will physically be on stand and on duty, and then we’ll do shift changes. So roughly 55 to 60 employees will work throughout the day, just lifeguarding alone,” explained Brett Weinburger, assistant director of recreation for BREC. “A big thing about being around pools is being familiar with water, and also, knowing how to swim, having safety protection devices set in place. Make sure you have a cell phone, if something was to occur, and make sure people know how to swim.”
Weinburger said if you do not know how to swim, wear a life jacket or have some type of floatation device available.
“It is a safety device that children have that they are wearing, which is good for them, but also sometimes, it gives a false sense of security to the children that they can go and do something that they may not be able to do,” explained Weinburger. “The big thing about swim lessons is teaching someone the lifesaving skill. If you were at a facility or you were somewhere you want to go swimming, if something was to occur and you are swimming you might be able to assist and help someone else,” said Weinburger.
Drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional injury death in the world, according to the World Health Organization.
BREC offers swim lessons. For more information, click here, and for more water safety tips, you can click here.