Volusia County beaches are feeling the impacts of a national lifeguard shortage

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Beach Safety hoped to get between 100-150 new recruits this season but are currently at 65.

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Captain AJ Miller said that means a lot of overtime for employees across the board.

“We are making sure our staff that are in the trucks who are also trained lifeguards are out on the beach filling in those gaps where the towers are open,” said Miller.

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With the long Fourth of July holiday week coming up, he is reminding people that rip currents are always a risk even when the water is flat.

“When we have that big surf, that’s going to punch holes in the sand bar and that’s going to create those big rip currents. So, when we have a big surf for a couple of days, it’s actually more dangerous as far as rip currents are concerned once it flattens out,” explained Miller.

Another recruit class won’t happen again until next spring, so in the meantime Miller said his team will make do. However, he’s constantly looking at new ways to attract different groups.

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“We had a relationship last year with the ROTC at Embry Riddle, we are going to surf contests. We are trying to look at new avenues that we haven’t before,” said Miller.

Pay has gone up for guards to $17 and hour and they also get a sign on bonus. While the requirements are tough, Miller said the six weeks of tryouts can sometimes help some recruits get to where they need to be.

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