Milfordlifeguardhonored as a life saver for pulling man from water off Walnut Beach

Aug. 2—Coming amid a statewide shortage of lifeguards, the incident underlines the importance of having teenagers such as Falco working as lifeguards, said Mayor Richard Smith, who gave her a proclamation honoring Falco for her bravery and good work.

"When first responders arrived on scene, Avery was very calm and she quickly and professionally began explaining precisely what had happened. First responders were extremely impressed with how she handled the situation and they say the positive outcome was due to Avery's quick response," according to the citation.

Falco didn't think she was particularly brave.

"I don't think that I was any kind of hero. If I didn't come along, someone else would have helped him," Falco said Monday. "I think that he could swim but he was panicking that he couldn't. The biggest challenge was keeping him calm and making sure that he wasn't making it worse for himself."

Luckily for the man, who appeared to be about 40 years old, 6 feet tall and 200 pounds, the tide was very high, so his jump didn't hurt him, but he was still in about 10 feet of water some 25 yards from shore. About 5 foot three and 120 pounds, Falco is a strong swimmer, having swam competitively with the Milford Yacht Club swim team for about eight years, she said.

When she got to the swimmer, "he was facing away from the shore, so I just put my left arm over my left shoulder and I used my right arm to paddle back," Falco said.

The pier is marked with "No Jumping" signs but swimmers — usually daredevil teenagers — jumping from it is a chronic problem, said Milford Fire Department Battalion Chief Adam Hansen, the department's spokesperson.

"In the summer we get kids jumping off that all the time," Hansen said. "We highly advise against it."

The incident underlines the need for lifeguards and the state's lack of them, Recreation Director William Garfield said. Without their presence, this incident could have gone much worse. The shortage, meanwhile, leaves Milford staffing only Walnut and Gulf beaches. Anchor and Woodmont beaches are also usually manned by lifeguards.

Including Falco, the city has 11 lifeguards this summer and needs 20 to 25 to staff all city beaches, said Rich Minnix, a recreation department supervisor.

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