COCOA BEACH, Fla. – In the past few weeks, Atlantic storms and king tides have created consistent hazards on Central Florida’s coastline, like erosion, flooding, and dangerous rip currents.
Yet, Brevard County has figured out a way to make swimming safer despite the dangers.
A retired lifeguard has been helping to save lives with specially placed rings since 2017, and this month alone, former Brevard Ocean Rescue Chief Wyatt Wernath of the American Lifeguard Association said the emergency flotation devices have been put to use 20 times.
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“We have them all the way from Cape Canaveral to Sebastian Inlet, and collectively, we’ve had 20 deployments, which are significant rescues, in Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach, Indialantic, and Melbourne Beach,” Wernath said.
Wernath said his non-profit Drown Zero is primarily funded by the Surfing Evolution and Preservation Foundation.
“We put these out and make them available for Good Samaritans or bystanders who are not gonna watch someone drown so that they have flotation to go into the water and help that person without getting into trouble themselves because it’s proven flotation prevents drowning,” he said.
Next, Wernath said he wants to outfit all of his life ring stations with cameras to alert first responders so bystanders can focus on the rescue.
“I wanna put cameras on all the ones we have here so we’re making that station with the camera to capture the event, as well as make that emergency call which time is of the essence.”
Wernath was a Brevard County lifeguard for 16 years and said even in retirement, he’s still committed to making beaches safer.
“It’s a passion,” he said. “And even after I left lifeguarding back in 2009, I still stayed vigilant and trying to help provide safety on the beachfront and prevent drowning.”
The life rings are also at lifeguarded beaches.
The county said since January two people have drowned on Brevard beaches.
Wernath said neither of them were due to rip currents.