Community Corner

Safety Class Promotes Education on Drowning Prevention, Rescue

The safety class on Sunday is open to the public, surfers, police officers, fire fighters, paramedics, water rescue team members, dive team members and the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Great Lakes have taken 276 lives since June 2010 — a painful experience that hit extremely close to home in 2012 with the loss of Port Washington residents Peter Dougherty, 24, and Tyler Buzcek, 15.

The tally comes from the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project — an organization that formed with the "single goal" of saving lives, according to its website. The group will be in town on Sunday for a Great Lakes Water Safety class.

The class is also hosted by the Port Washington Waterfront Safety Advisory Committee that formed in light of these tragedies, which has worked hard since to plan and implement steps to educate and prevent more drownings in the community.

The event is open to the public as well as "surfers, police officers, fire fighters, paramedics, water rescue team members, dive team members and the U.S. Coast Guard," according to a press release from the committee.

The Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project will lead the class, offering a classroom, beach and water session to teach drowning prevention and rescue skills.

According to the press release, the class will teach participants how to:

  • Recognize the danger of the surf environment keeping personal safety as THE primary responsibility 
  • Recognize the “Signs of Drowning” – How to identify a person in trouble from within a crowd
  • Understand rip currents; i.e. how, where, and why rip currents occur
  • Use the MI Sea Grants “Flip, Float, and Follow” rip current survival strategy
  • Use a flotation device such as a throw ring, throw rope, rescue tube, surfboard or other objects that float to rescue a person in distress or in a rip current
  • React when encountering swimmers who have suffered an injury or unconscious
  • Enroll in lifesaving, first aid, and CPR training from accredited agencies.
The class starts with a meet-and-greet session at 9 a.m., a classroom session at 9:30 a.m., beach session at 10:45 a.m. and water session at 11:15 a.m. The water session has a $30 fee; the other sessions are offered with a suggested donation.

The events will be held at Van Ells-Schanen American Legion Post 82, 435 N. Lake Street. People interested in participating should RSVP online at www.GLSRP.org/classes and pay any class fees at Port Washington City Hall.

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