MANCHESTER, Conn. — There’s a unique dynamic between the Manchester firefighters and the lifeguards in town – one that plays out all summer long. The Manchester Fire Department, along with the Ambulance Service of Manchester have been providing hands-on real-time scenarios to help the lifeguards become better lifesavers.
“We want to make sure our lifeguards are ready for any situation whether it’s a cut on the knee or, worst-case scenario, a search and rescue in a pool," said Josh Charette, the longtime recreation supervisor in Manchester.
The Manchester Fire Department has been holding periodic rescue and resuscitation drills for the 65 lifeguards in town for the past few weeks.
During the most recent set of drills at the Globe Hollow Swimming Area in Manchester, Assistant Chief Josh Beaulieu said, “The intent of the drills is to get the lifeguards to recognize and respond to an emergency, to begin resuscitation and then integrating the fire department response with that.”
Caleb Curtis, who is serving as the lead lifeguard this summer at Globe Hollow and is a rising sophomore in the nursing program at UConn said of the drills, “You get to see all the equipment come out, you get to see what is actually going to happen because you get all the bells and whistles that are going to be used -- if a real (lifesaving) event were to happen.”
“We couldn’t do our job well if they didn’t do their job well,” said Lt. Moria Perez, a 24-year veteran of the Manchester Fire Department.
Perez was offering her advice to the lifeguards as they worked through each water rescue scenario.
Assistant Chief Beaulieu added, “It’s amazing the amount of responsibility these 16-, 17-, and 18-year-olds have at these pools and, when they have to respond to an emergency, what we’ve seen, is they rise to the occasion every single time.”
Jimmy Altman is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at jaltman@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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