Heat, Rip Currents Prompt Dozens Of Long Beach Lifeguard Rescues

LONG BEACH, NY — Extreme heat, rip currents and an inordinately high number of beach-goers led to dozens of rescues over the weekend in Long Beach.

Visitors and residents flooded the beach Saturday amid sunny skies and temperatures reaching the upper 90s. But particularly strong rip currents and heat-related medical events led to around 61 lifeguard rescues, Lifeguard Chief Paul Gillespie told Patch on Thursday.

About half of the rescues involved kids.

"Saturday was really a rough day because there were so many people," he said. "You had bad water."

The heat wave led to numerous emergency medical technician responses, including for heat exhaustion, heat stroke, water swallowing and seizures. One boy had to be hospitalized after suffering a seizure on the beach. Lifeguards helped bring down his temperature until fire crews could reach him.

Normally, Long Beach lifeguards perform hardly any rescues, said Gillespie. Such was the case on Sunday.

"We usually don't have any because the water isn't bad, it's just maintenance of people, keeping them between flags and stuff like that, he said.

Gillespie said most of the rescues involved powerful rip currents stemming from holes in the sand. Anyone who finds themselves being sucked out to sea should not fight against the current. Instead, let the current take them out and then swim parallel to the beach.

"By then, the lifeguard is usually on top of it," he said.

Furthermore, folks should avoid swimming when lifeguards are not on duty.