County commissioner looks for ways to make Brevard beaches safer

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — There have been multiple drownings along Brevard County’s beaches this year and one county commissioner told Channel 9 that he won’t sleep until the county’s beaches are safer.

Brevard County Ocean Rescue reported more than 390 rip current rescues between Nov.  2022 and March 2023.

During that same time, there were no drownings at lifeguard-protected beaches; however, there were eight drownings in unincorporated areas with no lifeguard stations.

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County Commissioner Jason Steele is asking the county to explore the possibilities of using tourist development tax dollars to add lifeguard stations in unincorporated areas of Brevard County

“So, there’s been an ongoing study that started back in May in regards to lifeguards and what we needed to do to protect the beach and protect the people and specifically protect our tourists,” Steele said.

Steele said he is also looking to the community for solutions to make Brevard’s beaches safer.

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“I plan on going outside the normal level of government and asking private enterprises and specifically Ron Jon’s Foundation which has a program called Drown Zero to help us with a donation and implementation to provide some additional safety for the people on our beaches,” Steele added.

Drown Zero stations contain flotation devices that are accessible to the public. They are already in use around Cocoa Beach due to partnerships between the Cocoa Beach Rotary Club, the City of Cocoa Beach and area businesses.

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Back in March, the county added lifeguard stations in Indialantic and Spessard Holland South Beach Park as well as adding rolling lifeguard patrols.

“Families come down in the summer, a lot of family’s vacations down here. Typically, the ocean is pretty calm but if you’re very inexperienced, you can get into trouble,” said beach visitor Wade Gillespie.

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