Parkland Ambulance loads the injured swimmer onto a stretcher to cap off the demonstration (Michael Joel-Hansen/paNOW Staff)

By Michael Joel-Hansen

National Drowning Prevention Week

Medics and lifeguards team up to educate public

Jul 23, 2019 | 6:17 PM

Swimmers at Kinsmen Water Park got to see lifeguards and paramedics in action Tuesday afternoon.

As part of National Drowning Prevention Week, Parkland Ambulance and lifeguards at the water park showed how they would deal with a swimmer who could have suffered a spinal injury.

The demonstration started with a lifeguard diving into the pool and pretending to injure themselves as the rest snapped into action, including the rescuer. After the injured person was taken from the water, paramedics loaded them onto a stretcher.

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Lauren Haubrich, recreation programmer with the City of Prince Albert said she hopes people who saw the simulation would walk away thinking about water safety.

“You know if someone’s at the lake and they’re diving off the board or they’re deciding to do front flips off the dock, is the water deep enough for them to dive into and is there someone there that can help them in the event there’s something wrong,” she said.

Along with getting people thinking about water safety, Haubrich said it is good for the public to see what kind of skills lifeguards have. This includes being trained to see if someone has injured themselves diving into the pool, to assessing the health of the person and dealing with crowd control.

“It’s really important I think for us to demonstrate that the lifeguards are doing a lot more than just sitting and getting a suntan,” she said.

Besides the demonstration, members from the Prince Albert Fire Department were also on hand talking to people about water safety. Capt. Trevor Wingert said they feel it is important to take any opportunity to get out with the people.

“Being the job we have, I think being role models in the community and helping community out and giving back to the community is important to the young ones,” he said.

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MichaelJoel.Hansen@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @mjhskcdn