With One Weekend to Go, 69 Rescues This Season for Brick Lifeguards

Brick's lifeguards will call it a season this Sunday, after a summer that resulted in many lives saved and even more protected from the dangers that lurk within a day at the beach.

According to statistics compiled by township officials this week, township lifeguards completed 69 rescues, 43 water assists and 128 calls for medical aid this season.

Overall, the summer of 2012 produced 19 EMT calls, 19 administrations of oxygen to patients, 14 lost persons and five reports of disorderly conduct at the beach.

Police were called to the beach 33 times in all, statistics show. Two needles were also found over the course of the season.

Brick's lifeguards are responsible for monitoring the bathing waters at three ocean beaches and Windward Beach on the Metedeconk River, officials said. They'll end their season at the end of the day this Sunday, Sept. 16.

Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis credited Beach Captain Donovan Brown for a successful season.

"Mr. Brown has been heading our beaches for decades," Acropolis said. "He makes sure our guards are well-trained and focused when they are on duty."

The mayor also commended all of the township's lifeguards.

"They train hard all summer to live up to the enormous responsibilities that their jobs require and the people who visit our beaches are safer for it," the mayor said.