Panama City Beach struggles to hire enough seasonal lifeguards as peak season approaches

PANAMA CITY BEACH − With massive crowds of tourists expected to flock to the Beach soon, local safety officials are struggling to find enough seasonal lifeguards to cover the Gulf Coast.

According to Daryl Paul, beach safety director for Panama City Beach Fire Rescue, his department had only hired one seasonal lifeguard as of Tuesday morning, leaving 14 positions still open with less than two months until the lifeguard season officially begins.

"The word is out about Panama City Beach, and we're not a sleepy, little spring break town," Paul said. "We're pretty busy for the most part always. ... It's going to be a tough go if we don't have enough seasonals turn out."

He also said the seasonal lifeguard who was hired was the only one of seven applicants so far this year to pass the physical requirement of being able to swim 500 meters in less than 10 minutes. The swim is typically held in the pool at the Frank Brown Park Aquatic Center.

As a United States Lifesaving Association accredited agency, PCB's beach safety division must enforce this physical standard.

"We don't flex on that at all," Paul said. "We're really going for a tight-niche market because that's the standard, and I personally believe that is very much an accurate standard."

Nine beachgoers drowned in Bay County last year. Of the drownings, six happened off the coast of Panama City Beach, and three happened on unincorporated county beaches outside the city limits.

Two occurred under single red flags, while the seven others happened with double red flags overhead during very rough surf conditions. All the victims were tourists who died after being caught in rip currents. It is illegal in Bay County to swim in double-red-flag conditions under penalty of a $500 fine.

Despite the staggering number of drownings, PCB lifeguards still logged almost 240 rescues, approximately 2,542 public assists, approximately 172,000 preventative actions and more than 1.109 million public contacts.

Assists are when a lifeguard entered the water to prevent a drowning. Preventative actions are when a lifeguard prevented someone from needing assistance. Public contacts are when lifeguards inform beachgoers on rip currents and the flag system.

Pay for seasonal lifeguards in Panama City Beach starts at $17 an hour and goes up depending on experience. The official lifeguard season in PCB runs from April 1 to Sept. 31.

Along with room for 15 seasonal lifeguards, the local beach safety division also boasts eight full-time, year-round lifeguards.

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For Paul, the reason someone might want to be a lifeguard not only varies from person to person. He admitted the job is tough with little down time. However, it also is very fulfilling, being that lifeguards are the city's first line of defense for millions of beachgoers every year.

"I can't really speak on why anyone really would because they would have to develop their own reason," Paul said. "The times do get hard. You're going to run tough calls. You're going to run a bunch of rescues. You're going to be very busy.

"You have to develop your own reasons why to keep you in the game, and if you have something that's just kind of manufactured for you ... it's just easier to give up."

For more information on PCB lifeguards, or to apply for the position, visit https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/pcbgov/jobs/4376192/lifeguard-seasonal. Interested applicants also can directly contact Paul texting 850-704-9230 or emailing daryl.paul@pcbfl.gov.

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Panama City Beach is struggling to find enough seasonal lifeguards